One year since the deadly terrorist attack on St. Elias Church in Damascus

One year has passed since the devastating terrorist attack on the Church of the Prophet Elias in the Dweilaa district of Damascus, an assault that shocked Syria and the international community and left at least 25 people dead and dozens injured.

The attack, which took place on June 22, 2025, was the first suicide bombing in the Syrian capital following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December 2024. Syrian authorities attributed the attack to the Islamic State (ISIS/Daesh).

According to official reports, the attacker entered the church while worshippers were gathered for prayer, opened fire on the faithful, and then detonated an explosive belt, causing extensive casualties and destruction inside the sanctuary.

The terrorist attack prompted widespread international condemnation. The United Nations, the United States, France, Greece, and numerous other countries denounced the assault and called on Syria’s new authorities to ensure the protection of the country’s religious and ethnic minorities during the ongoing transitional period.

Although the self-proclaimed Islamic State lost control of its territorial “caliphate” in Iraq in 2017 and Syria in 2019, extremist…