Four people were killed and about fifty were injured in a bomb attack by Islamic State during Holy Mass. on the first Sunday of Advent at a church in Mindanao, Philippines.
Local media reported that police believed the explosion in Marawi City was an act of revenge for the recent killing of 11 members of a terrorist militia during a military operation.
Islamist violence
Mindanao, an area inhabited by Filipino Muslims, has been the scene of Islamist violence for decades. In 2017, Marawi was occupied by Islamic State (IS) terrorists and was only liberated by the Philippine army after five months of fighting. During this time, terrorists also occupied the city’s Catholic cathedral and took several worshipers hostage. More than 300 people were killed in the conflict, which went down in Philippine history as the longest “urban war.”
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. condemned the attack. and Catholic bishops. “Extremists who use violence against innocent people will always be considered enemies of our society,” Marcos emphasized on the X platform, calling “foreign terrorists.” Pope Francis assured his closeness to the victims of the terrorist attack during the Angelus prayer on December 3.
The president of the Episcopal Conference of the Philippines, Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, regretted that the perpetrators chose the exact moment to detonate the bomb as Catholics welcomed Advent, the start of the new church year. “However, every peace-loving citizen must refrain from seeking revenge,” the bishop said.
Mindanao State University (MSU), where the attack took place, released a statement emphasizing that “violence has no place in a civilized society.” It was “particularly abhorrent at a university like MSU, a bastion of peace, harmony, solidarity and respect for life and humanity,” the report said.
Source: Do Rzeczy
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
