©(Merlyn Manos, AFP)
On December 3rd, a bomb attack during a Catholic mass in the Philippines killed at least four people and injured dozens. President Ferdinand Marcos attributed the attack to “foreign terrorists,” while security officials suggested it might be a retaliatory act for recent military operations against Islamist militant groups.
At least four people were killed and dozens were wounded in a bomb attack on a Catholic mass in the insurgency-plagued southern Philippines on Sunday, with President Ferdinand Marcos blaming “foreign terrorists.”
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility on Sunday for a bomb attack on a Catholic mass in the southern Philippines, which police said killed at least four people.
The blast happened during a morning service at Mindanao State University's gymnasium in Marawi, the country's largest Muslim city. Police Lieutenant General Emmanuel Peralta said four people were killed and around 50 were wounded in the blast that was caused by an improvised explosive device. The death toll had earlier stood at three.
Other security officials said the bombing may have been a retaliatory attack for a series of military operations against Islamist militant groups recently.
Mindanao State University issued a statement condemning “the act of violence” as it suspended classes and deployed more security personnel on the campus. “We stand in solidarity with our Christian community and all those affected by this tragedy,” the university stated.
Marawi city Mayor Majul Gandamra urged members of the Muslim and Christian communities to remain united.
Military chief General Romeo Brawner said the bombing may have been a revenge attack following military operations against the three Islamist militant groups that have been active in Mindanao lately: Dawlah Islamiyah-Philippines, Abu Sayyaf, and Maute. “Based on the evidence that we gathered, there is a big percentage that points to the Maute-ISIS.”
“There are strong indications of a foreign element (in Sunday's attack),” Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro told reporters.
Pro-Islamic State Maute and Abu Sayyaf militants, including foreign and local fighters, held Marawi under siege in 2017. The Philippine's military wrested back the ruined city after a five-month battle that claimed more than 1,000 lives. Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao del Sur are part of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The country's Muslim minority were given self-rule in Bangsamoro under former President Rodrigo Duterte as part of efforts to head off the lure of violent extremism. Militant attacks on buses, Catholic churches and public markets have been a feature of decades-long unrest in the region.
Miroslava Salazar, with AFP
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