At least 15 people were killed after an Islamic State suicide bomber detonated himself inside a church filled with people in Dwelaa area of Damascus in Syria on Sunday.
The blast took place as people were praying inside the Mar Elias Church.
“A suicide attacker detonates an explosive belt inside the Saint Elias church in the Dwelaa area of Damascus,” state TV reported, adding that security forces cordoned off the area.
Syria’s Interior Ministry said suicide bomber who detonated himself in Damascus church was member of Islamic State.
According to news agency AFP, the blast caused destruction at the church, with shattered wood from fittings and pews, icons on the ground and pools of blood.
Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said there were 30 people wounded and killed, but the exact numbers are unclear.
Children were among the casualties, local media reported.
Security forces and first-responders rushed to the site.
In a video widely circulated online, an eyewitness said that the attacker came in and started to shoot at the people there before detonating an explosive vest he was wearing.