Barnabas Fund, 18 November 2019
Syriac Christian minister Hoseb Bedoian and his father were shot dead by two motorcycle gunmen who ambushed their car on the road from Qamishli to Deir al-Zor, in north-east Syria, on 11 November. Some reports have linked the gunmen to ISIS.
A few hours later, three bombs concealed on motorbikes were detonated at five-minute intervals in the city of Qamishli, in a coordinated attack targeting Kurdish and Christian communities, killing at least eight people. Some reports numbered fatalities as high as 30.
The first exploded in a quiet predominantly Kurdish district. The second bomb exploded in the heart of the city’s market where a large number of Christians own property. The third was detonated on a road near a church and Christian school.