ISIS Suicide Bomber Targets Armenian and Assyrian Genocide Commemoration Ceremony in Qamishli

QAMISHLI, SYRIA (Al-Masdar) — A suicide bomber from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) blew off his explosive belt when attempting to sneak into a religious ceremony held by the city’s Assyrians, killing at least 3 guards and injuring dozens of civilians, Al-Masdar News reports.

The bloody attack comes as Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, the patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church, was holding a special ceremony commemorating the 101 anniversary of Ottoman genocide against Armenians and Assyrians of Qamishli.

Local sources said that government troops securing the event had stopped the suspected bomber and prevented him from entering the ceremony before he detonated his explosive belt, killing all three guards and wounding dozens.

The northeastern city of Qamishli, populated mostly by Christians and Kurds, was targeted by ISIS suicide attacks at least three times before, where dozens of civilians have been killed and wounded.