In the southern Philippine province of Lanao del Sur, an explosion occurred Sunday morning at a university gymnasium during a Catholic mass, according to Reuters.
The bombing in Marawi, the provincial capital of Lanao del Sur, followed a series of military operations against local “Islamic State” groups in the southern Philippines, the military chief said, including one in Lanao del Sur on Sunday that killed the group’s leader Dawlah Islamiya-Maute.
It is possible that what happened this morning was a retaliatory attack, Armed Forces Chief Romeo Brawner told the press conference.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr strongly condemned the attack: “I condemn in the strongest possible terms the senseless and most heinous acts perpetrated by foreign terrorists,” Marcos said in a statement. “Extremists who wield violence against the innocent will always be regarded as enemies to our society.”
Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said at a press conference there were “strong indications of a foreign element” in the bombing and added that the investigation would “continue unabated.”
Mindanao State University is “deeply saddened and appalled by the act of violence that occurred during a religious gathering,” the school posted on Facebook. “We unequivocally condemn in the strongest possible terms this senseless and horrific act.”
