Suicide bombing at Damascus church kills 20, authorities say

At least 20 people were killed in Syria, and 52 people were injured in a suicide bombing in a church at the foot of Damascus.

The attacker entered the Church of Mar Elias in Dweila during a service and opened fire with a gun before exploding a explosive vest.

The jihadist group added that it is connected to the Islamic State (IS). There was no claim from the group itself.

Emergency teams, known as a large -scale white helmet Syrian civil defense, a very damaged altar through the church, broken glass covered rows and a bloody floor photos and video released.

A person told the AFP news agency outside Mar Elias that he had “entered a gun” and began to shoot. “[People] He tried to stop herself before she flew up, “he added.

A worker in a nearby shop said: “We saw fire in the church and the remains of the wooden benches thrown up to the entrance.”

According to the Ministry of Interior, the security forces condemned the area around the church and investigates the attack.

Bashar al -Assad was the first attack in Damascus since he was overthrown by the rebel forces in December.

Sunni Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), a former member of the al-Qaeda in Syria, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, constantly promised to protect religious and ethnic minorities.

However, the country has been shaken by two deadly sectarian violence waves in recent months.