Islamic State militants have claimed responsibility for a bombing at a Catholic Mass in the Philippines that killed at least four people and injured 50 others. The attack occurred on Sunday, December 3, in the city of Marawi, which was besieged by Islamist militants for five months in 2017.
The attack took place in a university gymnasium in Marawi, a city on the southern island of Mindanao.
The Islamic State group, which has a presence in the southern Philippines, said on Telegram that its members had carried out the bombing.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. condemned the attack, calling it “senseless and most heinous.”
Police and the military have been deployed to the area, and security has been stepped up in the country’s south and around the capital, Manila.
The bombing comes as the Philippines is grappling with a number of security challenges, including a long-running insurgency in the south and the threat of terrorism.
Source: PhilNews24 | December 4, 2023
