Star Metro - Syria announces arrests over Damascus church attack

The shooting and suicide bombing 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.

- 'Painful' -

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.

It was also the first attack of its kind in the Syrian capital since Assad's ouster.

During a visit to the stricken church, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch John X said a funeral service for some of the victims would be held on Tuesday.

He told clergy and other faithful that "what happened is painful, but do not be afraid".

AFP correspondents saw shops closed in Dwelaa on Monday while people posted death notices onto walls.

Since the new authorities took power, the international community has repeatedly urged them to protect minorities and ensure their participation in Syria's transition, particularly after the recent violence.

The top cleric of Syria's Sunni Muslim majority, Grand Mufti Osama al-Rifai, condemned acts of violence and terrorism in a statement Monday.

"We express our complete rejection of targeting places of worship and terrorising believers," he said.

- Condemnation -

Foreign condemnation of the attack has continued to pour in.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would not allow extremists to drag Syria back into chaos and instability, vowing that Ankara would "continue to support the Syrian government's fight against terrorism".

Turkey, which is close to the new authorities, has repeatedly offered its operational and military support to fight IS and other militant threats.

French President Emmanuel Macron also denounced the "horrible" attack, while the European Union said it "stands in solidarity" with Syria in combating ethnic and religious violence.

"It is a grave reminder of the need to intensify efforts against the terrorist threat and to ensure the enduring defeat of Daesh and other terrorist organisations," EU foreign policy spokesperson Anouar El Anouni said, using another name for IS.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed anger after the attack on the Greek Orthodox Church, calling on the new authorities "to take concrete measures to protect all ethnic and religious minorities".

UN resident and humanitarian coordinator for Syria Adam Abdelmoula urged authorities to take "all necessary steps to ensure the protection of civilians", saying there was "no room for violence and extremism".

Syria's Christian community has shrunk from around one million before the war to fewer than 300,000 due to waves of displacement and emigration.

IS seized large swathes of Syrian and Iraqi territory in the early years of the civil war, declaring a cross-border "caliphate" in 2014.

The jihadists were territorially defeated in Syria 2019 but have maintained a presence, particularly in the country's vast desert.

S.Lapointe--SMC