A powerful explosion believed to have been caused by a bomb ripped through a Catholic mass, killing at least four people and wounding dozens more Sunday in a predominantly Muslim city in the southern Philippines, officials said.
Morning mass was being celebrated in a gymnasium at the Mindanao State University in Marawi City when the explosion occurred, causing panic among dozens of students and teachers and leaving the victims bloodied and lying on the ground. said Taha Mandangan, head of security. from the state campus.
At least two of the injured were 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 blast, including three women, and another 50 were taken to two hospitals for treatment for mostly minor injuries.
The powerful explosion is believed to have been caused by a bomb that destroyed a Catholic mass at a Mindanao State University gymnasium in Marawi City. AP
Only two of the dead had been identified, authorities said.
Army troops and police immediately cordoned off the area and were conducting an initial investigation and reviewing security cameras for any indication of who may have been responsible for the attack. Security checkpoints were established throughout the city.
The deadly explosion set off a security alarm beyond Marawi City, as the Christmas season ushered in a period of travel, shopping and traffic jams across the country.
Military personnel stand guard at the entrance to a gym while police investigate on December 3, 2023. AFP via Getty Images
The Philippine coast guard said it ordered all its personnel to step up intelligence gathering, stricter inspections of passenger ferries and the deployment of bomb-sniffing dogs and sea marshals following the suspected bomb attack.
“Amid this barbaric act, the best public service must prevail,” Coast Guard chief Admiral Ronnie Gavan said in a statement.
Presidential adviser Carlito Gálvez, a former military chief of staff who now oversees the government’s efforts to end Muslim and communist insurgencies, strongly condemned what he called a bombing incident.
“This horrendous attack, which occurred during a mass…shows the ruthless methods these lawless elements will use to sow fear, anger and animosity among our people,” Galvez said in a statement. “We will not allow this to happen.”
Authorities conduct an investigation at the site of an explosion in Marawi City, southern Philippines, Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023. AP
There was still no clear indication of who was responsible for the explosion, but police said they would verify the possible involvement of Muslim militants, who still have a presence in the region despite years of military and police offensives.
The regional police director, Brig. Gen. Allan Nobleza said investigators were assessing whether the explosion was caused by a homemade bomb or a grenade, and whether the attack was linked to the deaths of 11 suspected Islamic militants in a military offensive backed by airstrikes and artillery fire on Friday near Datu Hoffer. city in the south of the province of Maguindanao.
Nobleza said the slain militants belonged to Dawlah Islamiyah, an armed group that had aligned itself 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, chats with Philippine military chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., right, as they hold a news conference in Quezon City, Philippines, Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023. AP
The mosque-studded city was attacked by Islamic militants aligned with the Islamic State group in 2017, leaving more than 1,100 dead, mostly militants, before the five-month siege was quelled by Filipino forces backed by airstrikes and surveillance planes. deployed by the United States. and Australia.
The southern Philippines is the homeland of the Muslim minority in the predominantly Catholic nation and the scene of a decades-long separatist rebellion.
The largest armed insurgent group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, signed a peace deal with the government in 2014, significantly easing decades of fighting.
But several smaller armed groups rejected the peace pact and continue bombings and other attacks while evading government offensives.
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