Syria Foils Bombing Attempt at Orthodox Cathedral in Aleppo

Security forces in Aleppo, Syria, successfully thwarted an attempted bombing of the Saint Ephrem Syriac Orthodox Cathedral on Wednesday morning. The plot was uncovered when a suspicious object, described as a small item wrapped in a black bag and sealed with transparent tape, fell from a funeral vehicle entering the cathedral grounds in the Suleimaniyah area. Although the driver denied knowledge of the device, security forces were alerted and promptly closed surrounding roads. A specialized engineering unit subsequently examined and safely removed the explosive device. Surveillance footage confirmed the object had fallen from the vehicle, which had been parked nearby overnight. This incident has reignited concerns regarding the safety of the Christian community in Syria, following a series of recent attacks. Notably, a suicide bomber targeted security forces near a church in Aleppo on New Year’s Eve, and a deadly attack on Saint Elias Church in Damascus killed 25 people last June. The Syriac Orthodox Archdiocese of Aleppo issued a statement detailing the foiled plot, highlighting the ongoing security challenges faced by religious institutions in the region since the fall of the Assad regime.