ISIS says it is responsible for the deadly bombing of a Catholic mass inside a university gymnasium in the Philippines on Sunday.
At least four people were killed and another 50 were hurt by the blast in the southern city of Marawi. The Islamic State group announced on Telegram that its militants had detonated the bomb.
According to terror group watchdog SITE Intelligence, ISIS said its members had “detonated an explosive device on a large gathering of Christian disbelievers in Marawi City,” CNN reports. Philippines Armed Forces Chief Romeo Saturnino Brawner Jr. said at a Sunday press conference that the bombing may have been a “retaliatory attack” after the leader of a pro-Islamic State group was killed in a military operation, according to Reuters.
On Monday, a senior military official said a major manhunt is now underway to find the bombers. “As we speak, there’s an ongoing massive operation to hunt these terrorist groups or suspected perpetrators of the bombing,” William Gonzales, Western Mindanao Command chief, told reporters.
Marawi, where the bombing took place, was devastated in 2017 when the city was besieged for five months by Islamist militants attempting to turn it into a Southeast Asian “wilayat” or “governorate” for ISIS.
“Extremists who wield violence against the innocent will always be regarded as enemies to our society,” Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in a statement on X on Sunday. “Rest assured we will bring the perpetrators of this ruthless act to justice,” he added. “Let us all keep the victims, their families, and our communities in our prayers.”
Pope Francis also offered prayers for the victims during his Sunday address in Rome on Sunday. He separately used a written message to appeal to “Christ the prince of peace [to] grant to all the strength to turn from violence and overcome every evil with good.”
