Extremist group claims deadly Damascus church bombing, vows more attacks
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – In the early hours of Tuesday, the extremist group Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah claimed responsibility for the deadly suicide bombing that targeted the Mar Elias Church in the al-Duwaila neighborhood of Damascus during a Sunday mass.
The attack left 22 people dead and 59 others injured, according to the latest figures released by Syria’s Ministry of Health.
Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah, a relatively new group that publicly emerged in February, has claimed responsibility for a series of violent operations, including a massacre in the village of Arza in Hama that killed more than ten local residents.
The group claims its leader is an individual who goes by the name Abu Aisha al-Shami.
In its statement, the group identified the perpetrator of the Damascus church bombing as “the martyrdom-seeker Mohammed Zain al-Abidin Abu Othman,” claiming he carried out the suicide attack that resulted in dozens of casualties.
The Syrian Transitional Government had blamed the attack on the so-called Islamic State (ISIS).
On Monday, the Interior Ministry announced that security forces had dismantled a cell linked to the group in Rif Dimashq, killing one member allegedly responsible for facilitating the bomber’s entry into the church.
However, Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah denied the government’s claims, stating: “We affirm that the narrative pushed by the al-Jolani regime’s media is utterly false and baseless. It insults the intelligence of the people of the Levant.”
The group also issued further threats of future attacks, using sectarian language aimed at religious minorities, including the Alawite and Shi’a communities. In previous Telegram communications, the group claimed attacks in Homs, the Syrian coast, and rural Hama, and recently threatened the Druze-majority region of Suwayda.