Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. says foreign terrorists are responsible for a Sunday bombing during a Catholic mass in the country’s south that killed four people and wounded dozens of others.
The bomb went off during in a gymnasium at Mindanao State University in southern Marawi city, officials said.
The military has confirmed that the blast killed four people, including three women. At least 50 others were brought to two hospitals for treatment. Six of the wounded were fighting for their lives in a hospital, said Gov. Mamintal Adiong Jr. of the Islamic province of Lanao del Sur, of which Marawi is the capital.
“I condemn in the strongest possible terms the senseless and most heinous acts perpetrated by foreign terrorists upon the Mindanao State University,” President Marcos said in a statement. “Extremists who wield violence against the innocent will always be regarded as enemies to our society.”
ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack, saying on its Telegram channels: “The soldiers of the caliphate detonated an explosive device on a large gathering of Christians…in the city of Marawi.”
