<h2><strong>Introduction</strong>:</h2><p>Places of worship and religious freedoms are protected under the international laws of&nbsp;<a href="https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/customary-ihl/v1/rule38">armed conflict</a> and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/topic/freedom-religion">human rights</a>, respectively; causing damage or other types of harm to places of worship or religious symbols is specifically criminalized under&nbsp;<a href="https://cyrilla.org/api/files/1518438924540kbp9k40ry2gxpoa1cel5l8fr.pdf">Syrian law</a>. Nevertheless, since 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, and 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, Syria witnessed an increase in the number of attacks on religious sites. Syrian Archive identified 55 attacks including&nbsp;bombings, burnings, vandalism of religious sites, demolitions of religious sites , shootings, shellings, and airstrikes. The perpetrators of these attacks varied, with most unidentified by Syrian Archive. The dataset of attacks on religious sites is available in our archive and can be accessed via the following <a href="https://syrianarchive.org/ar/data-archive/?type=incidents">link</a>.</p><p>Syrian Archive conducted in-depth investigations into three attacks in the Hama Governorate on a church and two shrines.&nbsp;</p><h3>Investigation 1 - The Attack on the Hagia Sophia Church in Al-Suqaylabiyah, Rural Hama</h3><p>The focus of this first investigation is an attack on the Hagia Sophia Church, three days after the fall of the Assad regime, on 11 December 2024. The church’s, which is owned by Nabil al-Abdullah (a former commander for the National Defence Forces during the Assad regime), furniture, icons, and books were damaged in the incident.&nbsp;</p><h3>Investigation Two - The Bombing of the Shrine of Sheikh Muhammad al-Ajami</h3><p>This investigation examines a bombing of the Sheikh al-Ajami shrine in the village of Fan al-Wastani in the northeastern</p><p>Hama countryside, approximately one month after the fall of the Assad regime, on 9 January 2025. The shrine was reportedly bombed by two men on a motorcycle.&nbsp;</p><h3>Third Investigation - Attack on the Shrine of Sheikh Nasser Asaad</h3><p>This investigation follows an attack on the shrine of Sheikh Nasser Asaad in Tel Abdul Aziz, located in the Salamiyah area east of Hama, on 5 March 2025. The shrine was reportedly destroyed by the so-called Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah militant group.&nbsp;</p><h2><strong>Attacks on religious sites since 2011:</strong></h2><p>Since March 2011 and until the fall of the Assad regime, parties to the conflict in Syria have targeted religious sites. Syria has witnessed repeated attacks on Islamic religious sites (mosques - Sufi shrines), Christian sites (churches), Jewish sites (synagogues), and&nbsp; shrines (Alawite - Shia - Druze - Ismaili).</p><h3><strong>Islamic religious sites (Mosques - Sufi Shrines):</strong></h3><p>Between March 2011 and June 2013, the Syrian Network for Human Rights&nbsp;<a href="https://snhr.org/public_html/wp-content/pdf/arabic/%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%81%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%AC%D8%AF%20%D9%85%D9%86%20%D9%82%D8%A8%D9%84%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AA%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D9%83%D9%88%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%A9.pdf">documented</a> 1,451 attacks and assaults on mosques in Syria, resulting in the death of at least 48 imams.</p><p>On 4 February 2025, the Ministry of Endowments in the Syrian Transitional Government&nbsp;<a href="https://archive.sana.sy/?p=2187574">revealed</a> that more than 3,100 mosques have been damaged or destroyed across Syria.</p><p>Syrian Archive has previously investigated attacks on a&nbsp;<a href="https://syrianarchive.org/en/investigations/saraqib-s-market-and-mosque-destroyed-in-airstrike/">mosque</a> and market in Saraqeb in December 2019, the&nbsp;<a href="https://syrianarchive.org/en/investigations/confirmed-us-responsible-for-aleppo-mosque-bombing/">Al-Jina</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://syrianarchive.org/en/investigations/the-al-jinah-mosque-complex-bombing/">Mosque</a> in Aleppo in March 2017, and the&nbsp;<a href="https://syrianarchive.org/en/investigations/fact-checking-russia-s-claim-that-it-didn-t-bomb-a-mosque-in-syria/">bombing</a> of the Al-Farouq Omar Ibn Al-Khattab Mosque in Jisr al-Shughour in October 2015.</p><h3><strong>Christian religious sites:</strong></h3><p>Between March 2011 and September 2019, the Syrian Network for Human Rights&nbsp;<a href="https://snhr.org/public_html/wp-content/pdf/arabic/Targeting_Christian_Places_of_Worship_in_Syria_is_a_Threat_to_World_Heritage.pdf">documented</a> at least 124 attacks on Christian religious sites. Syrian government forces were reportedly responsible for 75 attacks; armed opposition groups were responsible for 33 attacks; ISIS for 10 attacks; Hayat Tahrir al-Sham for two attacks; and other parties for four attacks.</p><p>Syrian Archive previously investigated the&nbsp;<a href="https://syrianarchive.org/en/investigations/attack-impacts-church-school-and-civilian-homes-in-tal-tawil-in-the-hasakah-countryside/">shelling</a> of the Mar Sawa al-Hakim Church in Tal Tawil, Hasakah Governorate, on 29 May 2022, in addition to five other churches in the area.</p><h3><strong>Jewish religious sites:</strong></h3><p>There is limited information available on attacks on synagogues in Syria But&nbsp;in March 2013,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aa.com.tr/ar/%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%84%D9%8A/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D8%B8%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%AA%D9%87%D9%83-%D8%AD%D8%B1%D9%85%D8%A9-%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%AE%D9%8A%D8%A9/267877">news websites</a> reported that a Jewish&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5RJrMR4od0">synagogue</a> in the Jobar neighbourhood of east Damascus had been shelled.</p><h3><strong>Shrines (Alawite, Shiite, Druze, and Ismaili):</strong></h3><p>There is no precise documentation prior to the fall of the Assad regime regarding attacks on these shrines, but news websites published&nbsp;<a href="https://ademrights.org/arabic/YSLb4Dic">reports</a> and&nbsp;<a href="https://raseef22.net/article/26922-list-the-most-prominent-shrines-destroyed-by-daash">photos</a> about several previous attacks.</p><p>&nbsp;</p>

Attacks on Religious Sites from 1 December 2024 to 31 August 2025

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Days after the fall of Assad's government:   Vandalism, destruction, and closure of the Hagia Sophia church in the city of Al-Suqaylabiyah 

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<h2><strong>Introduction</strong></h2><p>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;</p><h2><strong>Methodology</strong></h2><p>Syrian Archive collected more than 300 videos, photos, reports, and statements posted on news websites, social media, and YouTube for<strong> 55&nbsp;</strong>incidents, showing the locations of the impact, traces of destruction, initial reports, and official reports, within a dataset specific to this investigation.&nbsp;</p><p>Syrian Archive's activities included the following:</p><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;<i>Living Atlas</i>.</li><li>Investigating in detail three incidents that highlight specific characteristics of these attacks.</li></ul><p>&nbsp;</p><p>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/"><strong>our website.</strong></a></p><h2><strong>Data</strong></h2><p>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."</p><p>While working on this database, Syrian Archive collected and preserved &nbsp; a total of <strong>55</strong> 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;</p><h3><strong>Distribution of attacks by type of religious site</strong></h3><p>&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.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><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"></p><p><i>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.</i></p><p>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;</p><p>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.</p><p><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"></p><p><i>An infographic created by Syrian Archive shows the distribution of attacks on religious shrines by sect between 27 November 2024 and 31 August 2025.</i></p><h3><strong>Distribution of attacks by province</strong></h3><p>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;</p><p style="text-align:right;">&nbsp;</p><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><p><i>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.</i></p><h3><strong>Distribution of attacks by type of attack</strong></h3><p>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;</p><p style="text-align:right;"><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"></p><p><i>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.</i></p><h3><strong>Distribution and pattern of attacks by month</strong></h3><p>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.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><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"></p><p><i>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.</i></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><i><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"></i></p><p><i>A chart created by Syrian Archive shows the distribution of attacks per month by province between 27 November 2024 and 31 August 2025.</i></p><p style="margin-left:36pt;">&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>

Attacks Against Religious Sites Dataset Analysis

Bombing of the Sheikh Nasser Asaad shrine in the village of Tal Abdul Aziz in the Hama countryside

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Bombing of Sheikh Muhammad al-Ajmi Shrine in the Fan al-Wustani village in the Hama countryside

INVESTIGATIONS

Attacks on Religious Sites from 1 December 2024 to 31 August 2025

Table Of Contents

.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 on Religious Sites from 1 December 2024 to 31 August 2025

Table Of Contents

INVESTIGATIONS