DAMASCUS (Reuters) -Syrian Christians were struggling on Monday to understand why their community was targeted in a suicide attack and whether they can rely on the Islamist-led government's assurances of protection.

The interior ministry says a man affiliated with IS entered a church and opened fire before blowing himself up.

The United Nations has condemned a suicide bombing on Sunday at a Damascus church that killed at least 25 worshippers, including women and children during mass, as a “heinous crime”.