ISIS suicide bomber enters St. Elias church, shoots little girl first then opens fire on faithful before detonating explosives. Attack kills at least 22 Christians and wounds 52 per Syrian authorities. Syrian Christian population plummeted from 1.5 million in 2011 to under 500 thousand in 2025. ISIS attributes attack though no official claim. Christians form 5% of Syria and face constant persecution from groups like ISIS and al-Nusra since 2011 war start. Churches burned, faithful kidnapped, many forced to flee or pay jizya tax under ISIS 2014-2019. Post-Assad Islamist takeover in 2024 revives dormant ISIS cells exploiting chaos. Syrian Christians trace presence to 1st century making them oldest communities targeted as foreign culture by extremists. Over 365 million Christians worldwide face high persecution with Middle East as epicenter per Open Doors 2024. Young Syrian Christian loses most friends to violence from all conflict sides despite neutrality. Emigration drains Christian youth threatening extinction in Syria and Lebanon.