Syria’s Ministry of Religious Endowments on Friday condemned the killing of a Shia Muslim preacher in an explosion near Damascus, saying the attack poses a threat to the country’s stability.
Imam Farhan Hassan al-Mansour, who served at Syria's revered Sayyida Zeinab shrine in Damascus' southern suburbs, was killed in a bomb blast on Friday, state media reported, while it remains unclear who was behind the attack.
In a statement posted on Facebook, the ministry said that "such attacks constitute a direct threat to civil peace and aim to undermine Syrians’ unity and destabilise the social fabric," stressing its full rejection of such acts.
It also reaffirmed its support for the efforts of internal security forces to pursue the perpetrators, and bring those involved to justice in accordance with the law.
State television said Friday that security agencies had begun investigations and were searching for the perpetrators.
The Shia community's highest spiritual authority in Syria said in a statement on Facebook that Mansour was killed when "his car was targeted with an explosive device."
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said the blast came after Mansour left the shrine. The group called the incident an "assassination," without saying who was responsible.
The shrine is believed by Shias to be the burial site of Prophet Muhammad’s granddaughter and is considered one of the most important religious sites for the community.
In July last year, influential Shia cleric Sheikh Rassul Shahud was killed in central Syria, with the highest spiritual body in the country decrying his "assassination." Fears and uncertainty More than a year since the ouster of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Syria has witnessed frequent outbreaks of violence as the new government, under President Ahmed al-Sharaa, attempts to impose its authority.
Some religious minorities have expressed safety concerns in the war-torn country since the new government came to power in December 2024, despite repeated reassurances by Damascus.
In 2025, sectarian clashes in Alawite and Druze-majority regions left thousands killed, mostly civilians. There was also a deadly suicide bombing at an Orthodox church in Damascus.
Shias are estimated to number just 300,000 in Syria, and are mainly concentrated around Damascus as well as in Homs, Aleppo, and Idlib provinces.
In February last year, Syrian authorities said they had arrested an alleged Islamic State group commander accused of planning a foiled attack targeting the Sayyida Zeinab shrine.
Pro-Iran groups such as Hezbollah used to be heavily entrenched in the Sayyida Zeinab district before the overthrow of Assad’s regime, which was backed by Tehran and its allies .