Turkish president condemns ‘heinous’ church attack in Damascus, pledges solidarity with Syria

ANKARA/ISTANBUL

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday strongly condemned the deadly terrorist attack targeting the Mar Ilyas Church in Damascus, the capital of Syria.

He condemned on X “the heinous terrorist attack carried out on the Mar Ilyas Church in Damascus.”

Erdogan extended condolences to the families of those killed, the Syrian government, and the people of Syria.

“I wish a speedy recovery to the injured,” he added.

Erdogan also stressed that the attack was aimed at destabilizing the peace, security, and coexistence in Syria and the broader region.

“In the face of this vile terrorist act targeting Syria’s peace, internal stability, and culture of living together, we stand with the Syrian people and government,” he emphasized.

He underscored Ankara’s support for Syria’s efforts to combat terrorism.

“We will never allow our neighbor and brother Syria, which is, for the first time in years, looking to the future with hope, to be dragged back into instability through the hands of proxy terrorist organizations,” he stated.

“Türkiye will continue to support the Syrian government’s fight against terrorism,” he concluded.

A suicide bomber from the ISIS (Daesh) terror group opened fire Sunday inside the church in the east of Damascus before blowing himself up, killing at least 20 people and injuring 52 others, said the Syrian Health Ministry.

The incident comes just weeks after Syria's Interior Ministry announced the uncovering of ISIS cells in rural Damascus on May 26. During the raid, authorities said they seized light- and medium-sized weapons.

Since the fall of the Assad regime, Syria’s security services have continued to pursue individuals accused of involvement in crimes, human rights violations, and terrorism-related activities.

Bashar Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia in December, ending the Baath Party’s regime, which had been in power since 1963.

Ahmed Al-Sharaa, who led anti-regime forces to oust Assad, was declared president for a transitional period in January.