Authorities say suicide in the Damascus Church kills 20, the authorities say

At least 20 people were killed and 52 were injured in the therapy in the church on the outskirts of Damascus, the Syrian Ministry of Internal Affairs said.

During the service, the attacker entered the Church of Mar -Elias in Dulya and opened fire with weapons before throwing out an explosive vest, the ministry said.

It adds that it was connected with the Jihadist group of the Islamic State (IS). There was no immediate requirement from the group itself.

Syrian civil defense – whose emergency teams are widely known as white helmets – posted photos and videos from within the church that shows a badly damaged altar, benches covered with broken glass and blood -curved floor.

One person told AFP outside Mar Ellia that “someone entered the weapon” and started firing. “(People) tried to stop him before he blew himself up,” he added.

The worker in a nearby store said: “We saw a fire in the church, and the remains of wooden benches were thrown to the entrance.”

Security forces justified the area around the church and investigating the attack, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reports.

It was the first such attack in Damascus because Bashar al -Assad was overthrown by rebels in December.

Provisional President Ahmed al-Sharaa-chi Islamist Group Sunni, Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), a former al-Qaeda branch in Syria-neatly promised to protect religious and ethnic minorities.

However, in recent months, the country has been shocked by two waves of death sectaries.