Overview

• On June 22, a gunman detonated an explosive vest inside St. Elias Orthodox Church in Damascus’s Dweil’a district, killing at least 25 worshippers and wounding 60.
• Syrian authorities blamed ISIL for the attack and conducted raids in the Damascus countryside that led to arrests and the killing of suspects tied to ISIS-linked cells.
• Saraya Ansar al-Sunna later emerged to claim responsibility, introducing uncertainty over which extremist network orchestrated the bombing.
• President Ahmad al-Sharaa denounced the incident as a “treacherous terrorist act” and pledged to apprehend and prosecute everyone involved.
• Estimates indicate only about 300,000 Christians remain in Syria, underscoring the high stakes for safeguarding dwindling religious communities.