DAMASCUS, Syria — The death toll from a suicide bomb attack on a church in Syria at the weekend has risen to 25, state media said Monday.
The attack Sunday on the Mar Elias Greek Orthodox church during a Divine Liturgy in Dweil'a, near Damascus, was the first of its kind in Syria in years, and comes as Damascus under its de facto Islamist rule is trying to win the support of minorities.
The Interior Ministry and witnesses said a gunman entered the church and opened fire on the congregation before detonating an explosive vest.
State news agency SANA, citing the Health Ministry, said 63 other people were wounded in the attack. Father Fadi Ghattas told The Associated Press that some 350 people were praying at the church.
The United States, the European Union and governments across the Middle East condemned the attack, decrying it as a terrorist attack.
''These terrible acts of cowardice have no place in the new tapestry of integrated tolerance and inclusion that Syrians are weaving,'' said U.S. Special Envoy for Syria and Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack in a post on X. ''We continue to support the Syrian government as it fights against those who are seeking to create instability and fear in their country and the broader region.''
Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry in a statement affirmed Riyadh's rejection of ''the targeting of places of worship, the intimidation of innocent civilians, and the innocent bloodshed.''
As President Ahmad al-Sharaa struggles to exert authority across the country, there have been concerns about the presence of sleeper cells of extremist groups in the war-torn country.