The Syrian capital, Damascus, witnessed a heavy security presence following the suicide bombing that targeted St. Elias church in the Dweila area on Sunday, June 22.
Enab Baladi reporters in Damascus observed intensified security measures in front of the Ibrahim al-Khalil monastery in the Kashkoul area.
An Enab Baladi correspondent reported that security forces closed the road leading from Dweila to the Ibrahim al-Khalil monastery in Kashkoul.
Security personnel also surrounded the area around St. Elias church, where the explosion occurred, as well as the neighboring St. Joseph church.
A security presence was also noted in areas inhabited by the Christian community, such as Bab Sharqi and al-Suryan.
According to Enab Baladi‘s observations, the intensity of the security presence around churches in Damascus dwindled after the Palm Sunday celebrations last April, despite ongoing threats against them.
The St. Elias church experienced the bombing during the weekly prayers held by the Christian community, attended by around 200 individuals, according to an Enab Baladi reporter.
The number of fatalities in today’s explosion has risen to 20, with 52 others injured, according to the Syrian Ministry of Health.
For its part, the Syrian Ministry of Interior attributed the attack to the Islamic State, stating that a suicide bomber opened fire before detonating explosives within the church.
The reporter noted that the Syrian internal security forces established a security cordon around the area amidst rescue efforts to retrieve the victims.
In a statement released through the official channels of the province, Damascus Governor Mohammad Maher Marwan condemned the explosion at St. Elias church in Dweila, describing it as “a heinous terrorist act.”
Minister of Information, Hamza Mustafa, also condemned the church bombing in a post on “X,” extending his heartfelt condolences to the victims’ families.
Previous threats… Increased activity
On March 18, the Interior Ministry released a video featuring confessions from individuals in a cell it claims is affiliated with the Islamic State, accusing them of attempting to bomb several locations in Syria, including in the city of Maaloula and the Sayyida Zainab area in the Damascus countryside.
According to the cell’s confessions, the attacks focused on “minorities” from different sects in Syria “to fuel public and international opinion on this issue.”
The cell admitted to planning an attack on a church in Maaloula using a car bomb timed with the New Year’s celebration, but heightened security measures prevented the plan from being realized.
The ministry thwarted the cell’s plot to target the Sayyida Zainab shrine in the vicinity of Damascus in January.
On April 9, The New York Times reported that the Islamic State has shown renewed activity in Syria, regaining strength, attracting new fighters, and increasing the number of attacks, according to officials from the United Nations and the United States, which heightens the risk of instability in Syria.
For his part, researcher in jihadist groups, Orabi Orabi, stated in a previous interview with Enab Baladi that Western warnings confirm that the Islamic State group still retains latent capabilities and is quietly reorganizing, attempting to present itself as an active player in the upcoming Syrian equation.
Security deployment in Damascus after Dweila church explosion Enab Baladi.
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