<h2>Introduction</h2>Syrian Archive identified 55 incidents of attacks on religious sites in Syria between the start of the “<a href="https://www.aljazeera.net/encyclopedia/2024/11/29/%D8%B1%D8%AF%D8%B9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%B9%D9%85%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%B9%D8%B3%D9%83%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A3%D8%B7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%A7">Deterrence of Aggression</a>” offensive on 27 November 2024, the&nbsp;<a href="https://carnegieendowment.org/middle-east/diwan/2024/12/bashar-al-assad-of-syria-has-been-ousted-from-power?lang=ar">fall of the Assad regime</a> on 8 December 2025, and 31 August 2025.These incidents coincided with an escalation of sectarian violence, particularly in March 2025 in western Syria and July 2025 in southern Syria.&nbsp;<h2>Methodology</h2>Syrian Archive collected more than 300 videos, photos, reports, and statements posted on news websites, social media, and YouTube for 55&nbsp;incidents, showing the locations of the impact, traces of destruction, initial reports, and official reports, within a dataset specific to this investigation.&nbsp;Syrian Archive's activities included the following:<ul><li>Collecting, preserving, and analyzing attacks, and identifying any&nbsp; patterns. Assessing potential perpetrators by evaluating official statements, announcements, and other indications in documentation.</li><li>Geolocating documentation by comparing prominent landmarks visible in visual content with satellite imagery from Google Earth and&nbsp;Living Atlas.</li><li>Investigating in detail three incidents that highlight specific characteristics of these attacks.</li></ul>&nbsp;By examining all available information about the attacks, Syrian Archive built an understanding of the incidents and their possible perpetrators. To learn more about Syrian Archive’s research methodology, please visit&nbsp;<a href="https://syrianarchive.org/ar/about/methods-tools/">our website.</a><h2>Data</h2>For this <a href="https://syrianarchive.org/ar/data-archive/?type=incidents">dataset</a>, a religious site refers to any building used as a place of worship. Shrines known in Arabic as “Maqams” are defined as "places of worship with shrines inside, built in honour of and in memory of the Sheikhs, and to receive blessings from them."While working on this database, Syrian Archive collected and preserved &nbsp; a total of 55 incidents of attacks on religious sites between 27 November 2024 and 31 August 2025. This dataset does not include all alleged attacks. It includes only those that have been confirmed by Syrian Archive through cross-referencing open source information including online posts, news reports, photos, and videos.&nbsp;<h3>Distribution of attacks by type of religious site</h3>&nbsp;Of the 55 religious sites attacked between 27 November 2024 and 31 August 2025, 39 were shrines belonging to non-Sunni sects of Islam (Alawite, Druze, Shia, and Ismaili), 12 were churches, and four were mosques.&nbsp;<img src="https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/image_837eb9a5c0.png" alt="image.png" srcset="https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/thumbnail_image_837eb9a5c0.png 245w, https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/small_image_837eb9a5c0.png 500w, https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/medium_image_837eb9a5c0.png 750w, https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/large_image_837eb9a5c0.png 1000w" sizes="100vw" width="1000">An infographic created by Syrian Archive that shows the distribution of attacks on religious sites by type of religious site between 27 November 2024 and 31 August 2025.Of the shrines attacked during this period, 27 were Alawite shrines, nine were Druze shrines, one was an&nbsp; Ismaili shrines, one was a Shiite shrine, and one was a Sufi shrine.&nbsp;Attacks on Alawite and Druze shrines accounted for the largest proportion of identified incidents. These attacks coincided with the events on&nbsp;<a href="https://syrianarchive.org/en/investigations/armed-factions-mobilization-to-the-syrian-coast-in-march-2025/">Syria's coast</a> between 6-11 March 2025 and in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/07/22/syria-abuses-humanitarian-emergency-amid-sweida-clashes">Suwayda</a> between 12-15 July 2025.<img src="https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/image_effe560563.png" alt="image.png" srcset="https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/thumbnail_image_effe560563.png 245w, https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/small_image_effe560563.png 500w, https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/medium_image_effe560563.png 750w, https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/large_image_effe560563.png 1000w" sizes="100vw" width="1000">An infographic created by Syrian Archive shows the distribution of attacks on religious shrines by sect between 27 November 2024 and 31 August 2025.<h3>Distribution of attacks by province</h3>Religious sites in the provinces of Hama, Suwayda, and Homs suffered the highest number of attacks, with 36 attacks in total, while the remaining 19 identified attacks were distributed across seven other provinces in Syria:&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/image_58d921fec9.png" alt="image.png" srcset="https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/thumbnail_image_58d921fec9.png 245w, https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/small_image_58d921fec9.png 500w, https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/medium_image_58d921fec9.png 750w, https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/large_image_58d921fec9.png 1000w" sizes="100vw" width="1000"></figure>An infographic created by Syrian Archive that shows the distribution of attacks on religious sites by province between 27 November 2024 and 31 August 2025.<h3>Distribution of attacks by type of attack</h3>Reports, videos, and photos show varied types of attacks in the&nbsp; 55 identified incidents. Some incidents include more than one type of attack. Vandalism, destruction, demolition, tampering, and &nbsp;burning were the most common types of attacks, accounting for 45 of the 55 attacks.&nbsp;Seven attacks involved a blast at the religious site , six involved a shooting, three involved shelling, one involved an airstrike, and one a suicide bombing.&nbsp;<img src="https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/image_15736b1cd2.png" alt="image.png" srcset="https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/thumbnail_image_15736b1cd2.png 245w, https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/small_image_15736b1cd2.png 500w, https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/medium_image_15736b1cd2.png 750w, https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/large_image_15736b1cd2.png 1000w" sizes="100vw" width="1000">An infographic created by Syrian Archive that shows the distribution of attacks on religious sites according to the type of attack between 27 November 2024 and 31 August 2025.<h3>Distribution and pattern of attacks by month</h3>December 2024 and February 2025 saw the highest number of attacks on religious sites, with 10 and eight attacks respectively, while May 2025 saw the lowest number with only two attacks.&nbsp;<img src="https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/image_4437cfb67b.png" alt="image.png" srcset="https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/thumbnail_image_4437cfb67b.png 245w, https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/small_image_4437cfb67b.png 500w, https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/medium_image_4437cfb67b.png 750w, https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/large_image_4437cfb67b.png 1000w" sizes="100vw" width="1000">A chart created by Syrian Archive that shows the distribution of attacks on religious sites by month and type of religious site between 27 November 2024 and 31 August 2025.&nbsp;<img src="https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/image_659f2725e3.png" alt="image.png" srcset="https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/thumbnail_image_659f2725e3.png 245w, https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/small_image_659f2725e3.png 500w, https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/medium_image_659f2725e3.png 750w, https://cms.syrianarchive.org/uploads/large_image_659f2725e3.png 1000w" sizes="100vw" width="1000">A chart created by Syrian Archive shows the distribution of attacks per month by province between 27 November 2024 and 31 August 2025.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Attacks Against Religious Sites Dataset Analysis

INVESTIGATIONS

Attacks Against Religious Sites Dataset Analysis

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.css-68jq5d{padding-bottom:1.45rem;color:#ffffff;-webkit-transition:0.25s;transition:0.25s;}.css-68jq5d:hover{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}INVESTIGATIONS

Attacks Against Religious Sites Dataset Analysis

Table Of Contents

INVESTIGATIONS