A suicide bomber in Syria on Sunday, June 22, detonated himself inside a church filled with people, state television said.

The explosion in Dweil’a in the outskirts of Damascus took place as people were praying inside the Mar Elias Church. Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says there were 30 people wounded and killed, but the exact numbers are unclear. Some local media reported that children were among the casualties.

The attack was the first of its kind in Syria in years, and comes as Damascus under its de facto Islamist rule is trying to win the support of minorities. As President Ahmad Al-Shara' struggles to exert authority across the country, there have been concerns about the presence of sleeper cells of extremist groups in the war-torn country.

An eyewitness said in a video widely circulated online that the attacker came in and started to shoot at the people there before detonating an explosive vest he was wearing.

State news agency SANA reported unspecified casualties. AFP correspondents at the scene saw destruction at the church with shattered wood from fittings and pews, icons on the ground and pools of blood.