Syria: Sariyya Ansar al-Sunnah Claims Responsibility for Church Attack

A relatively unknown jihadist group, Sariyya Ansar al-Sunnah (Taxiarchia Hypostitertin Sunniton), claimed responsibility on Tuesday (June 24) for the suicide attack on Sunday at the Orthodox church of Prophet Elijah in Damascus. The attack resulted in the deaths of at least 25 worshippers and injured 63 others. In a message published on social media, the militant group stated that the attack was retaliation for what they described as ‘provocations by Christians in Damascus.’ They also threatened further attacks, including suicide bombings. Previously, this group had issued threats against Christians, Alawites, Druze, and Shiite Muslims. The transitional president of Syria, Ahmad al-Sar, vowed yesterday to bring those involved in the ‘heinous’ attack on the church to justice. Syrian Islamic authorities immediately accused the Islamic State terrorist organization of carrying out the attack and announced arrests on Monday as part of a security operation. Syrian authorities have charged a member of the Sunni jihadist organization with being the perpetrator of the suicide attack against the Prophet Elijah church. According to Interior Minister Anas Hatamb, an operation was conducted against ‘locations of the terrorist Islamic State organization.’ The ministry emphasized that investigations are ongoing and all perpetrators will be punished. However, in its statement, Sariyya Ansar al-Sunnah – which has only a few hundred followers on Telegram – rejected this narrative, calling it ‘false and fabricated.’ The group also claimed responsibility for an attack in February in the village of Arzeh in the Hama province and has threatened individuals associated with the non-governmental organization Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.