The jihadist group, Sharaya Ansar al-Sunnah (Sunni Supporters Brigade), claimed responsibility todayfor the deadly suicide attack that occurred on Sunday (22 June) at the Prophet Elijah Orthodox Church in Damascus. The attack resulted in at least 25 fatalities and left 63 others injured.

Through a message on social media, the group stated that the attack was in response to “provocations by Christians in Damascus” and warned of more attacks, including suicide bombings. Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah has previously targeted Christians, Alawites, Druze, and Shia Muslims.

Syria’s interim president, Ahmad al-Sara, denounced the attack, describing it as “heinous” and vowed that the perpetrators would face justice.

Initially, Syria’s Islamist authorities attributed the responsibility for the attack to the Islamic State, announcing arrests on Monday as part of a broad security operation. Interior Minister Anas Hatab mentioned that an operation was conducted in “locations where cells of the Islamic State terrorist group are operating”, and assured that investigations were ongoing to penalize all those involved.

However, Sharaya Ansar al-Sunnah, which has a few hundred followers on Telegram, rejected this claim, labeling it as “false and fabricated”, and insisted that they were behind the attack.

The same group had previously claimed responsibility for an attack last February in the village of Arzeh, in Hamara province, and has also issued threats against individuals associated with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

With information from AP

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