A powerful explosion believed to be the result of a bomb tore through a Catholic Mass and killed at least four people and injured dozens of others Sunday in a predominantly Muslim city in the southern Philippines, officials said.
Morning mass was underway at a gymnasium at the state-run Mindanao State University in Marawi City when the blast occurred, causing panic among dozens of students and teachers and leaving victims covered in blood and lying on the ground, said Taha Mandangan, the state’s campus security chief. .
At least two of those injured are fighting for their lives, Mandangan said.
“This is clearly an act of terrorism. It is not a simple dispute between two people. A bomb will kill everyone around,” Mandangan told The Associated Press by phone.
Regional military commander Maj. Gen. Gabriel Viray III said at least four people were killed in the explosion, including three women, and 50 others were taken to two hospitals for treatment of mostly minor injuries.
The powerful blast is believed to have been caused by a bomb that tore apart a Catholic Mass at a gymnasium at the government-run Mindanao State University in Marawi City. AP
Only two of those killed have been identified, officials said.
Army troops and police immediately cordoned off the area and are conducting preliminary investigations and checking security cameras for any indication of who may be responsible for the attack. Security checkpoints have been set up around the city.
The deadly explosion triggered a security alert outside Marawi city as the Christmas season kicks off a period of travel, shopping and traffic jams across the country.
Military personnel stand guard at the entrance to the gymnasium while police investigators on Dec. 3, 2023. AFP via Getty Images
The Philippine coast guard said it ordered all its personnel to intensify intelligence gathering, tighter inspections of passenger ferries and the deployment of bomb-sniffing dogs and sea marshals following suspected bomb attacks.
“In the midst of this barbaric act, the best public service must come first,” coast guard chief Admiral Ronnie Gavan said in a statement.
Presidential adviser Carlito Galvez, a former military chief of staff who now oversees government efforts to end Islamist and communist insurgencies, strongly condemned what he called the bombing incident.
“This terrible attack, which took place during Mass … shows the brutal methods these lawless elements will use to sow fear, anger and hostility among our people,” Galvez said in a statement. “We will not allow this to happen.”
Law enforcement officers conduct an investigation at the site of an explosion in Marawi City, southern Philippines on Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023. AP
There was no clear indication yet of who was responsible for the blast but police said they would examine the possible involvement of Islamist militants, who still have a presence in the region despite years of military and police attacks.
Regional police director Brig. General Allan Nobleza said investigators were assessing whether the blast was caused by a homemade bomb or a hand grenade, and if the attack was related to the killing of 11 suspected Islamist militants in a military offensive backed by airstrikes and artillery fire on Friday near the southern town of Datu Hoffer. province of Maguindanao.
Nobleza said the slain militants belonged to Dawlah Islamiyah, an armed group that has allied with the Islamic State group and still has a presence in Lanao del Sur province, where Marawi city is located.
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, center, speaks next to Philippine Army Chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., right, as they hold a press conference in Quezon City, Philippines, Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023. AP
The mosque-filled city was attacked by Islamic State-affiliated militants in 2017, killing more than 1,100 people, most of them militants, before the five-month siege was broken by Philippine troops backed by airstrikes and surveillance aircraft deployed by the United States. and Australia.
The southern Philippines is home to a Muslim minority in a predominantly Roman Catholic country and the site of a decades-long separatist insurgency.
The largest armed rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, signed a 2014 peace deal with the government, significantly easing decades of fighting.
But some smaller armed groups rejected the peace deal and continued bombings and other attacks while avoiding government attacks.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
