A terrorist attack devastated a Syrian Orthodox church dedicated to the Virgin Mary, in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli, causing more than 10 wounded, of whom at least 3 are in serious condition, Fides News Agency reported July 12, 2019. According to preliminary reports, the bombers used a car bomb. A claim of the attack by the jihadists of the so-called Islamic State (Daesh) has been relaunched by websites specialized in monitoring the Syrian conflict and armed groups operating in the Middle East but has not yet had official confirmation
The city of Qamishli, currently controlled by Kurdish militias, has been the scene in recent years of various terrorist acts aimed at affecting Christian communities. On June 19, 2016, Mar Ignatios Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch of the Syrian-Orthodox survived a deadly attack in Qamishli. On that occasion, a suicide terrorist had infiltrated a celebration organized to commemorate the so-called «Assyrian genocide» of 1915 (Sayfo), perpetrated by the Ottoman army against Christian sire and Assyrian communities. The bomber had been blocked at the entrance of the place where the celebration was presided by the Patriarch, and it is there that he blew himself up, causing the death of three people.
