Manila, December 03, 2023, The Europe Today: An explosion at a Catholic Mass in a university gymnasium in Marawi city in the Philippines killed four people and injured dozens more on Sunday.
“I condemn in the strongest possible terms the senseless and most heinous acts perpetrated by foreign terrorists. Extremists who wield violence against the innocent will always be regarded as enemies to our society,” said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on social media platform X.
The explosion occurred at Mindanao State University in the Lanao del Sur province in the southern part of the country. The blast happened during a regular service at Mindanao State University’s gymnasium in Marawi, the country’s largest Muslim city, regional police Chief Allan Nobleza said.
“We’re investigating if it’s an IED (improvised explosive device) or grenade throwing,” he said.
“It was really sudden and everyone ran. When I looked behind me people were lying on the floor. We didn’t know what happened because everything happened so fast,” university student Chris Jurado told AFP news agency. He said the incident happened during the first Bible reading of the morning mass at 7:00 am (2300 GMT Saturday).
Classes were suspended and more forces were deployed across the university.
“I condemn the violent bombing incident that transpired this morning. Terroristic attacks on educational institutions must also be condemned because these are places that promote the culture of peace,” Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Adiong, Jr., said in a statement.
The Lanao del Sur provincial government’s Facebook page showed him visiting “wounded victims of the bombing” at a medical facility.
“We unequivocally condemn in the strongest possible terms this senseless and horrific act,” Mindanao State University said in a statement on Facebook. “We stand in solidarity with our Christian community and all those affected by this tragedy,” it said.
Marawi is the country’s largest Muslim city and was besieged by Islamist militants for five months in 2017.
The Philippine military said on Saturday they had killed 11 militants, including members of the Dawlah Islamiyah-Philippines, a pro-IS group, in a military operation the day before in Maguindanao del Sur province.
