At least 20 people have been killed and 52 others wounded in a suicide bombing at a church on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria’s health ministry has said.

The attacker entered Mar Elias Church in Dweila during a service and opened fire with a weapon before detonating an explosive vest, according to the interior ministry.

It added that he was affiliated with the jihadist group Islamic State (IS). There was no immediate claim from the group itself.

The Syrian Civil Defence – whose emergency teams are widely known as the White Helmets – posted photos and video from inside the church showing a heavily damaged altar, pews covered in broken glass and a bloodied floor.

One person told AFP news agency outside Mar Elias that “someone entered carrying a weapon” and began shooting. “[People] tried to stop him before he blew himself up,” he added.

A worker at a nearby shop said: “We saw fire in the church and the remains of wooden benches thrown all the way to the entrance.”

Security forces have cordoned off the area around the church and are investigating the attack, according to the interior ministry.

It was the first such attack in Damascus since Bashar al-Assad was overthrown by rebel forces in December.

Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa – whose Sunni Islamist group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), is a former al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria – has repeatedly promised to protect religious and ethnic minorities.

However, the country has been rocked by two waves of deadly sectarian violence in recent months.