Drone attack targets church in Syria

The attack came during a ceremony to inaugurate the Ayia Sofia church, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitor, also confirmed the attack. According to the statement by the monitor, one person was killed and at least six people were wounded in a drone attack carried out by rebel groups stationed nearby. Ayia Sofia is an alternate spelling for Hagia Sophia, the recently museum-converted-to-mosque which used to be a church until the mid-15th century.

The attack comes two days after a Russian airstrike that killed seven people, including four children, in the Idlib region. 

Parts of Idlib proper and its neighboring areas are controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an organization that used to be the Syrian arm of the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda. Turkey supports Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and other armed rebel groups in the area both covertly and overtly.

Turkey and Russia enforced a ceasefire in the region in 2020. The ceasefire still holds despite violations by both sides and air strikes carried out by Russia.