Damascus | Pakistan

Israel bombed the Syrian army’s headquarters in Damascus on Wednesday after warning the government to leave the country’s Druze minority alone, as authorities announced a ceasefire in the community’s southern heartland after deadly sectarian clashes. Syrian government forces entered the majority-Druze city of Sweida on Tuesday with the stated aim of overseeing a ceasefire agreed with Druze community leaders following days of fighting with local Bedouin tribes. However, witnesses reported that the government forces joined with the Bedouin in attacking Druze fighters and civilians in a bloody rampage through the city. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said that the violence in Sweida province since Sunday had left more than 300 people dead, including government forces, local fighters and 27 Druze civilians killed in “summary executions … by members of the defence and interior ministries”. The Syrian presidency vowed to investigate the “heinous acts” in Sweida and to punish “all those proven to...

A Syrian and an Israeli official are expected to meet in Baku later on Saturday on the sidelines of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s visit to Azerbaijan, a diplomatic source in Damascus with knowledge of the issue said. “There will be a meeting between a Syrian official and an Israeli official on the sidelines of the visit being conducted by Sharaa in Baku,” said the source, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue. Israel is a major arms supplier to Azerbaijan and has a significant diplomatic presence in the Caucasus nation, which neighbours its arch foe Iran. The diplomatic source stressed that Sharaa himself would not attend the Baku meeting, which would focus on “the recent Israeli military presence in Syria”. After the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, Israel carried out hundreds of air strikes in Syria to prevent key military assets from falling into the hands of the interim administration headed by Sharaa. It also sent troops into the UN-patrolled buffer zone...

Britain said on Saturday it was reestablishing diplomatic relations with Syria after the country’s years-long civil war, as foreign minister David Lammy visited its capital Damascus, pledging 94.5 million pounds ($129 million) in support. “There is renewed hope for the Syrian people,” Lammy said in a statement. “It is in our interests to support the […]

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Monday strongly condemned the heinous suicide bombing at the Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighbourhood of Damascus, Syria, on June 22, 2025, which resulted in the loss of precious lives and left many injured.

The Foreign Office (FO) on Monday strongly condemned a suicide bombing in Damascus the day prior, as the death toll from the attack rose to 25. At least 20 people were killed and dozens injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighbourhood of the Syrian capital Damascus on Sunday, health authorities and security sources said. In a statement issued today, the FO said: “Pakistan strongly condemns the heinous suicide bombing at the Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighbourhood of Damascus, Syria, on June 22, 2025, which resulted in the loss of precious lives and left many injured. “Pakistan stands in full solidarity with the brotherly people of Syria in this hour of grief, and reaffirms its strong support for efforts aimed at achieving lasting peace and stability in the country.” Meanwhile, Syria’s state news agency SANA reported that the death toll rose to 25. The agency cited the country’s health ministry. Syria’s interior ministry on Sunday said the suicide bomber wa...

At least 20 people were killed and dozens injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighbourhood of the Syrian capital Damascus on Sunday, health authorities and security sources said. It was the first suicide bombing in Damascus since Bashar al-Assad was toppled by an Islamist-led rebel insurgency in December. Syria’s interior ministry said the suicide bomber was a member of Islamic State. “He entered the church, opened fire and then detonated his explosive vest,” a ministry statement added. A security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said two men were involved in the attack, including the one who blew himself up. Islamic State has been behind several attempted attacks on churches in Syria since Assad’s fall, but this was the first to succeed, another security source told Reuters. Syria’s state news agency cited the health ministry as saying that 52 people were also injured in the blast. A livestream from the site by Syria’s civil defence, the White Helme...

The United States’ newly-appointed Syria envoy said he believed peace between Syria and Israel was achievable as he made his first trip to Damascus on Thursday, praising the rebel-led government and saying it was ready for dialogue. Thomas Barrack raised the American flag over the ambassador’s residence for the first time since the US embassy closed in 2012, underlining a rapid expansion of US ties with Damascus since President Donald Trump unexpectedly announced the lifting of sanctions and met Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa. “Syria and Israel are a solvable problem. But it starts with a dialogue,” Barrack told a small group of journalists in Damascus. “I’d say we need to start with just a non-aggression agreement, talk about boundaries and borders,” he said. Barrack also said that Syria would no longer be deemed a state sponsor of terrorism by the United States, saying the issue was “gone with the Assad regime being finished”, but that Congress had a six-month review period. “America’s intent and the preside...