Security remains heightened in the Philippines following an attack at a Catholic Mass on Sunday.
An explosion during the Sunday liturgical celebration in a gymnasium at Mindanao State University in Marawi City killed at least four people and left more than 50 others injured. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying on its Telegram channel that its members had detonated the bomb.
“During a Catholic Mass, a bomb exploded among the faithful at the university of Marawi in the Philippines, leaving at least 4 dead and 42 injured. In 2017, the city was the scene of clashes between Islamic jihadist groups and the army,” Aid to the Church in Need Italy posted on social media.
“[We] sorrowfully pray for our brothers!” the post concluded.
Campus security chief Taha Mandangan described the scene following the blast as chaotic with chairs strewn about the gym and Mass attendees bloodied and confused. Mandangan told the media that the attack was unmistakably an act of terrorism and that at least two of the wounded were in critical condition.
The Southern Philippines is predominantly Muslim and the region where the attack occurred is all too familiar with terrorism. In 2017, the Maute group, extremists associated with the Islamic State, seized Marawi to claim it as a region for the Islamic State in Southeast Asia. Expelling the terrorists cost the Philippines a five-month battle and thousands of lives, many of them civilians. The region has remained vigilant.
The attack on Sunday came on the heels of a military operation against local pro-Islamic State groups. A leader of the Dawlah Islamiya-Maute group in Lanao del Sur in the south of the country was killed on the same day as the explosion. Armed Forces Chief Romeo Brawner suggested that the attack on Mass attendees could be a retaliatory move by extremists in light of the government crackdown.
Security in the country’s capital of Manila has also been strengthened.
The Hungarian government was the first in the international community to condemn the violence and pledge support for victims.
“As a thousand-year-old Christian country, we have consistently stood up for Christians around the world and we condemn in the strongest terms the attack on Catholics practising their religion, which took place on the first Sunday of Advent,” foreign minister Péter Szijjártó posted on social media.
He also noted that Hungary has pledged five million forints (€13.000) in emergency aid to victims and their families through Catholic Charities of the Philippines.
Hungarian President Katalin Novak also offered her solidarity and sympathy to victims on social media on Sunday.
“I condemn in the strongest possible terms the assassination of people practicing their religion. All the more reason to redouble our efforts against the persecution of Christians. I pray for the victims, their families and the community attacked,” she wrote.
