IS blamed for deadly suicide attack on Damascus church

FRANCE 24 English

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00:01Worshippers in Syria are gripped by shock and grief.

00:05This after the Mar-Ilias church was attacked by a suicide bomber,

00:09with Syrian Christians praying inside.

00:12Damascus' Christian community is reeling after these killings,

00:16the first of their kind since the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

00:19We had just finished the prayer and were on our way out while people were still inside.

00:24Then a masked man entered carrying a weapon.

00:27He opened fire and killed many people, the church was full.

00:31People rushed at him and surrounded him.

00:33Then he blew himself up at the church door.

00:36Syrian authorities were quick to accuse the Islamic State for the attack,

00:40saying it was an attempt to undermine national coexistence

00:43and to destabilize the country.

00:45A strategy that could prove to be effective.

00:48Following the bombing, orthodox leadership in Damascus

00:52urged the government to assume responsibility for the terrorist act.

00:56Unfortunately, our state does not protect us from these acts.

01:01It is not protecting us at all.

01:03This gives us the impression that these acts have become institutional.

01:08And we are not used to asking protection from anyone.

01:12We are citizens in this country.

01:14And it's the responsibility of the state to protect us.

01:18National security is one of the greatest challenges facing the new Syrian government.

01:25The country's interior minister claims to have already foiled several attempted terrorist attacks

01:30against Christians and Shiite Muslims.

01:33In 2011, the Islamic State took control of a portion of Syrian territory

01:37before being pushed out by Kurdish forces.

01:40But the jihadist group has continued to maintain a presence in the Syrian desert.

01:45So, let's see.

01:46Let's see.

01:47Let's see.

01:48Let's see.

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