Pope Leo said on Tuesday he was deeply saddened by a suicide attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Syria at the weekend.

A little-known Sunni Muslim extremist group has claimed responsibility for the attack on Sunday, which killed 25 and wounded more than 60 others.

The authorities had initially blamed the Islamic State group for the shooting and suicide bombing at the Saint Elias church in the Syrian capital.

“His Holiness Pope Leo XIV was deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and destruction caused by the attack on the Greek Orthodox church of Mar Elias in Damascus,” said Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin.

“He expresses heartfelt solidarity with all those affected by this tragedy,” said the Italian cardinal, who is the second-highest official in the Catholic Church after the pope.

The attack was the first suicide bombing in a church in Syria since the country’s civil war erupted in 2011, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitor based in London.

Syria’s Christian minority is estimated to have shrunk from one million in 2011 to around 300,000 today.

AFP

Qatar has reopened its airspace after closing it earlier on Monday in anticipation of retaliatory attacks by Iran on a US air base near Doha.

Iran launched missiles at al-Udeid air base on Monday evening. Both Qatari and US officials said nearly all were intercepted and their were no casualties or injuries.

Prior to Iran’s attack, the US embassy in Qatar had urged American citizens to shelter-in-place “out of an abundance of caution”. That order has since been lifted, with the embassy saying operations will resume as normal on Tuesday.

Monday’s attack by Tehran comes two days after the US launched massive strikes against three nuclear facilities inside Iran.

Shortly after midnight on Tuesday local time, Qatari officials announced that air travel in the country could resume as normal.

Earlier on Monday, Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was closing its airspace to ensure the safety of residents and visitors, without offering further details.

Around the same time, the US embassy in Qatar suggested in a notice online that Americans should shelter in place “until further notice”. The UK government issued a similar warning to its citizens in Qatar, saying it was doing so in response to the US alert.

The warnings came ahead of a missile attack by Iran on al-Udeid Air Base, which serves as the headquarters for US Central Command’s air operations in the Middle East and hosts nearly 8,000 US troops, according to the State Department.

Iran said the attacks were meant to send a “clear and explicit” message to the US, and that it “will not leave any attack on its territorial integrity, sovereignty and national security unanswered”.

In response, Qatar said it “strongly condemns” the strike. It added that the attack was “successfully thwarted” by Qatari air defence systems.

US President Donald Trump called Iran’s response “very weak” and thanked Iranian officials for giving the Americans “early notice” of their attack.

Hours later, he announced Iran and Israel had come to a ceasefire deal that could bring an end to the war. Both countries have yet to confirm a ceasefire has been reached.

Trump said the agreement was a “total and complete” ceasefire and dubbed the conflict the “12 Day War”.

“This is a war that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn’t, and never will!” Trump said in a social media post.

Earlier, other countries in the region, including Bahrain and Kuwait, had temporarily closed their airspaces out of precaution.

The US has about 40,000 troops stationed in the Middle East.

Flight tracking websites showed planes diverting to other airports following the closure of Qatari airspace, including one from London bound for Doha that was diverted back to Heathrow airport.

Hamad International Airport is one of the world’s top 10 busiest airports on international traffic with around 140,000 passengers passing through per day.

Bilateral relations between the US and Qatar are “strong”, according to the State Department, which says Qatar has helped play a financial, political and military role in dealing with turmoil in the region.

Qatar closed its airspace temporarily on Monday following security warnings issued by the United States and the United Kingdom urging their citizens in the country to stay put until further notice.

The embassy advisories came as Iran reiterated its threats to retaliate against the United States over recent strikes on its nuclear sites.

The alerts triggered widespread concerns across Doha, prompting several institutions to send emergency instructions to staff and students.

Qatar’s foreign minister said on X that the airspace closure was “part of measures taken amid developments in the region,” without offering additional details.

However, a statement earlier from foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said: “The security situation remains stable.”

Qatar hosts Al Udeid Air Base, the largest U.S. military installation in the Middle East, housing around 10,000 troops and serving as the forward headquarters of US Central Command.

Two US officials told Reuters that Iran may carry out attacks targeting American forces in the Middle East, with one suggesting it could occur “in the next day or two.”

Messages from the US and British embassies said their warnings were issued “out of an abundance of caution,” and no further explanation was provided.

Residents in Doha voiced confusion over what they viewed as conflicting messages from Qatari and embassy officials.

Following the embassy alerts, American university campuses in Qatar reacted swiftly.

Texas A&M University ordered an evacuation, Northwestern University advised everyone to go home, and Georgetown University said people could go home if they wished.

The American School in Doha, which was not in session, closed its campus and cancelled its summer camps until further notice.