Kamikaze attack cost life on at least 22 people yesterday on Sunday at Damascusaccording to the latest account of the de facto authorities, who accused a member of the jihadist organization Islamic State (IK) How he committed it.

The United Nations and many countries, including the US, France and Greece, condemned the attack, the first of the species suffered by the Syrian capital since forces led by Radical Islamists overturned former President Bashar al -Assad on December 8th.

Security is one of the most serious challenges for the new Syrian authorities, which the international community is called upon to protect minorities and include them in the political transition process.

The Foreign Ministry in Damascus said that the perpetrator, who “belonged to the Daes terrorist organization” (e.g. IK abbreviation in Arabic) invaded the church of St. Elias, in Damascus Doula district, “opened fire” and then “fired”.

In front of the church, Um George, tearful, was looking for her child, who was there when the gunman invaded. “My son is praying to this church,” he explained. “I’m trying to find him but his cellphone is out of service and I haven’t been able to find him. I’m afraid I will never hear his voice again, “he sighed.

Correspondents from the French Agency saw injured carriers leaving the church, where debris and icons were scattered everywhere, covered by blood.

During the most recent report by the Ministry of Health cited last night by the official SANA news agency, the attack left 22 dead and 63 injured.

Lawrence Mamari, an eyewitness, said that “someone entered the church with a gun” and began to throw indiscriminately. When faithful “tried to stop him”, he triggered the explosives he had been living with.

IK, which had overwhelmed vast sections of the Syria and Iraq in 2014, in the midst of the civil war that erupted in 2011, had declared the creation of a “caliphate” in territories of both states. Admitting multiple directions, his “caliphate” collapsed in Iraq in 2017 and Syria in 2019, but its members continue to act mainly with the vast Syrian desert.

In May, he took responsibility for the first attack on the new de facto Syrian authorities.

Authorities then announced that they arrested IK core members near Damascus, allegedly preparing new attacks, while another operation in Aleppo (north) killed a member of the security forces and three members of the jihadist organization.