Syria raises Damascus church attack toll to 20 dead, 52 wounded

Damascus: Syria s health ministry said an attack on a church in Damascus on Sunday killed 20 people, state media reported, raising an earlier civil de...

Damascus: Syria's health ministry said an attack on a church in Damascus on Sunday killed 20 people, state media reported, raising an earlier civil defence toll of 15 dead.

"The number of victims in the terrorist attack that targeted the Saint Elias church in the Dwelaa area of Damascus has risen to 20 dead and 52 wounded," said a health ministry statement carried by state news agency SANA.

The interior ministry said in a statement that "a suicide attacker affiliated with the Daesh (IS) terrorist group entered the Saint Elias church in the Dwelaa area of the capital Damascus where he opened fire then blew himself up with an explosive belt".

AFP correspondents saw first responders transporting people from the site, which was strewn with shattered wood from fittings and pews, with fallen icons and pools of blood seen on the floor. Security forces cordoned off the area.