Officer Killed as Suicide Bomber Detonates in Aleppo on New Year’s Eve

A suicide bomber detonated an explosive belt late on New Year’s Eve in Aleppo after security forces tried to arrest a man at a checkpoint, the Syrian Interior Ministry said. One officer was killed and two others were wounded. Interior Ministry spokesman Nour al-Din al-Baba said the attacker, who has not been identified, “most likely” had “ideological or organizational” links to the Islamic State and was attempting to infiltrate a Christian area in central Aleppo.

He suggested the bomber may have been targeting the nearby Church of the Forty Martyrs, without citing evidence. Authorities had increased security across Syria for the holidays after a mosque bombing in Homs last week and other recent attacks. Officials said security forces were deployed around churches and Christian gatherings and were investigating the attacker’s identity, how he obtained the explosive belt and any ties to militant cells.

Aleppo’s governor, Azzam al-Gharib, said a militant was spotted trying to breach security barriers and the situation was now “fully under control.” Last week’s mosque blast in Homs killed at least eight people and wounded about 20. Ansar al-Sunna, described by analysts as a splinter of the Islamic State, claimed that attack and has previously claimed a deadly church bombing in Damascus.

Key Topics

World, United States, Syria, Aleppo, Islamic State, Terrorism, Churches