A suicide bomb attack in the Mar Elias church in Damascus has killed at least 15 people, claimed by Islamic State.

A suicide bomber detonated a bomb in the Mar Elias church in the Dweila neighborhood of the Syrian capital Damascus on Sunday, killing at least 15 people. This is the first such attack in Damascus since the overthrow of the Assad regime. The Syrian Interior Ministry confirmed the attacker was a member of Islamic State, who opened fire before detonating his explosive vest. The scenes of destruction in the church were captured by emergency crews, and President Ahmed al-Sharaa has pledged to protect minorities during his term in office.