Syria announces arrests over Damascus church attack

DAMASCUS: Syrian authorities on Monday announced arrests over a suicide blast targeting a church blamed on the Islamic State group, as President Ahmed al-Sharaa vowed those involved in the “heinous” attack would face justice.

The shooting and suicide bombing on Sunday at the Saint Elias church in the working-class Dwelaa district of the Syrian capital killed 25 people and wounded 63, the health ministry said.

The Islamist authorities who took power after ousting longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December said the attacker was affiliated with the Islamic State group, which has not yet claimed the attack.

The interior ministry reported the arrest of “a number of criminals involved in the attack” and the seizure of explosive devices and a booby-trapped motorcycle during a security operation near Damascus “against cells affiliated with the Daesh (IS) terrorist group”.

The announcement came hours after Sharaa vowed authorities would “work night and day, mobilising all our specialised security agencies, to capture all those who participated in and planned this heinous crime and bring them to justice”.

The attack follows incidents of sectarian violence in recent months, with security one of the greatest challenges for the new authorities. The attack “reminds us of the importance of solidarity, and unity of the government and the people in facing all that threatens our nation´s security and stability”, Sharaa said. The attack was the first suicide bombing in a church in Syria since the country´s civil war erupted in 2011, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor.