Syrian authorities announced arrests have been made in connection to a deadly suicide bombing that claimed the lives of at least 25 people at a Greek Orthodox church on Sunday.
The interior ministry reported the arrest of “a number of criminals involved in the attack,” the Orthodox Times reported.
According to Interior Minister Anas Khattab, the operation was carried out against “locations linked to cells of the terrorist organization Islamic State,” the outlet reported.
Explosive devices and a booby-trapped motorcycle were also recovered during a security operation near Damascus “against cells affiliated with the Daesh (IS) terrorist group,” according to France24.
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The announcement came hours after Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa vowed authorities would “work night and day” to capture all those who participated in and “planned this heinous crime and bring them to justice.”
At least 25 people were killed, and 63 others were injured in the attack that took place at the Mar Elias Church in Dweil’a, located on the outskirts of Damascus. It reportedly began while people were praying. The perpetrator first opened fire on the worshipers, before detonating himself.
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While no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, Syrian Interior Ministry spokesman Noureddine Al-Baba suggested ISIS as a likely culprit following a preliminary investigation.
“The security of places of worship is a red line,” Al-Baba said further, castigating ISIS and what remains of the former government of Ba’athist dictator Bashar al-Assad as actors trying to destabilize Syria.
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The attack “reminds us of the importance of solidarity, and unity of the government and the people in facing all that threatens our nation’s security and stability”, Sharaa said of the church bombing.
The attack comes amid a time of heightened political unrest in the notoriously volatile Middle East – less than 24 hours after the U.S. launched airstrikes on three of Iran’s top nuclear facilities.
Israel launched a series of similar attacks, including attacks on the Iranian capital, Tehran, in the weeks prior.
Fox News’ Kyle Schmidbauer and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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