Syria thwarts church attack in Tartous, blames Assad 'remnants': What to know

Syrian authorities announced on Wednesday that they had thwarted an attack overnight on a church outside the city of Tartous, accusing “remnants” of the former Assad regime of perpetrating it. 

The development comes as Damascus seeks to reassure minorities in the country following a number of attacks, including on places of worship.

What happened: The Syrian Interior Ministry said in a statement that there had been a plot to bomb the St. Elias Maronite Church in al-Khreibat, a village just outside the coastal city of Tartous. The ministry said an “outlaw group linked to remnants of the former regime” — a reference to the government of deposed former President Bashar al-Assad — planned to detonate explosive devices inside the church. Two people were arrested in connection to the plot and various materials were seized, according to the statement.

The ministry posted photos on X purportedly showing explosive devices and written threats as well as a flag of the Islamic State, suggesting the alleged perpetrators may have sought to pin the attack on ISIS. One of the threats read, “We have come to you with slaughter, oh enemies of God.”