“They Died Praying”: Suicide Bomber Slaughters 22 in Damascus Church Packed With Worshippers

It was supposed to be a quiet Sunday. For dozens of families in Damascus, Syria, it was meant to be a morning of peace, prayer, and community inside the sacred walls of Mar Elias Church. Instead, it ended in screams, blood, and heartbreak.

At least 22 people were killed and more than 60 others injured when a suicide bomber walked into the crowded church during a packed service and detonated his vest. Before the blast, the attacker reportedly opened fire, spreading panic and horror through the pews. Many of those killed were elderly and children people who came to worship, not to die.

Eyewitnesses describe chaos. Wooden pews shattered into splinters. Sacred icons torn from the walls. Pools of blood staining the marble floor. Some tried to stop him brave men and women who stood between the attacker and their loved ones. But in seconds, everything changed.

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The Syrian Interior Ministry confirmed that the bomber was a member of the Islamic State (ISIS). According to reports, a second man may have been involved in planning or executing the assault, marking the first such attack in Damascus since President Bashar al-Assad was overthrown in December by Islamist-led forces.

For many, the violence felt like a cruel reminder of darker days they thought had passed. “It was supposed to be over,” one survivor whispered through tears. “We had peace for a moment. They took it away.”

The Mar Elias Church is more than a building it’s a place of generational faith, resilience, and survival. And now, it’s also a crime scene.

Global leaders have condemned the attack, while Syrians both in the country and around the world are in mourning. Candlelight vigils have begun springing up in cities like Beirut, Berlin, and even New York where members of the Syrian diaspora are begging the world not to look away.

There were children in that church. There were mothers holding babies. There were elderly men clutching rosaries. They were all caught in the crossfire of hatred disguised as ideology. And they died praying.

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