(Breitbart)—A horrific gun and suicide bomb attack on a church in Damascus killed at least 25 people and wounded 63 more on Sunday, posing a stiff challenge to the ruling junta’s promise that it would make Syria safe for all ethnic and religious groups.
A masked gunman opened fire on the Greek Orthodox Church of the Prophet Elias in the Dweila neighborhood of Damascus during services on Sunday. The attacker detonated a suicide vest after shooting his way into the church. Some eyewitnesses reported seeing a second shooter during the attack.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Syrian Interior Ministry said the bomber was a member of the Islamic State.
On Monday, the Interior Ministry said that “a number of criminals involved in the attack” were arrested and explosive devices were seized in an operation near Damascus against “cells affiliated with the Daesh terrorist group.” Daesh is another name for ISIS.
Sunday’s horror was the first suicide bombing in a Syrian Christian church since the beginning of the brutal civil war in 2011, and the first terrorist attack in Damascus since the overthrow of dictator Bashar Assad last December.
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