<h4>Bomb Attack On Catholic Church</h4>
<p><strong><a href="https://openlife.ng/">OpenLife Nigeria</a></strong> has reliably gathered that four people have been killed and dozens wounded in a bomb attack at a Catholic mass in the Philippines.</p>
<p>The blast happened during a regular service at Mindanao State University&#8217;s gymnasium in Marawi, the country&#8217;s largest Muslim city, with regional police Chief Allan Nobleza said.</p>
<p>Police Lieutenant General Emmanuel Peralta said more than 50 people were wounded and hospitalised by the attack, which is being blamed on &#8216;foreign terrorists&#8217; by President Ferdinand Marcos.</p>
<p>Other security officials said the bombing may have been a retaliatory attack for a series of military operations against Islamist militant groups in recent days.</p>
<p>Photos show several overturned plastic chairs and debris around a black patch on the floor of the<br />
University student Chris Jurado, 21, told local media from his hospital bed that the explosion happened during the first Bible reading of the morning mass at 7.00am local time.</p>
<p>He said: &#8216;It was really sudden and everyone ran.&#8217;When I looked behind me people were lying on the floor. We didn&#8217;t know what happened because everything happened so fast.&#8217;</p>
<p>Rowena Mae Fernandez, 19, said she did not know what the blast was at first &#8211; then others started running: &#8216;My companion and I also ran, even though we fell on the ground at one point. That was the only thing I remembered until I got out of the gym and I fell again,&#8217; she said from hospital.</p>
<p>&#8216;My friends were crying because they saw my injury.&#8217; President Marcos condemned the attack by &#8216;foreign terrorists&#8217;, describing it as &#8216;senseless&#8217; and &#8216;heinous&#8217;.</p>
<p>Military chief General Romeo Brawner said the bombing may have been a revenge attack for military operations against three Islamist militant groups &#8211; Dawlah Islamiyah-Philippines, Abu Sayyaf and Maute &#8211; in western Mindanao in recent days.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.vanguardngr.com/">He said at a press conference: &#8216;That [a revenge attack] is one angle we are looking into.</a><br />
&#8216;Based on the evidence that we gathered there is a big percentage that points to the Maute-ISIS.&#8217;</p>
<p>Pro-Islamic State Maute and Abu Sayyaf militants &#8211; including foreign and local fighters &#8211; held Marawi under siege in 2017.</p>
<p>The Philippine military wrested back the ruined city after a five-month battle that claimed more than 1,000 lives.</p>
<p>&#8216;There are strong indications of a foreign element (in Sunday&#8217;s attack),&#8217; Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro told reporters.</p>
<p>Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao del Sur are part of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.</p>
<p>The country&#8217;s Muslim minority were given self-rule in Bangsamoro under former president Rodrigo Duterte as part of efforts to head off the lure of violent extremism.</p>
<p>Militant attacks on buses, Catholic churches and public markets have been a feature of decades-long unrest in the region.</p>
<p>Manila signed a peace pact with the nation&#8217;s largest rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, in 2014, ending their deadly armed rebellion.</p>
<p>But smaller bands of Muslim fighters opposed to the peace deal remain, including militants professing allegiance to the Islamic State group. Communist rebels also operate in the region.</p>
<p>Mindanao State University issued a statement condemning &#8216;the act of violence&#8217;, as it suspended classes and deployed more security personnel on the campus.</p>
<p>&#8216;We stand in solidarity with our Christian community and all those affected by this tragedy,&#8217; the university said.</p>
<p>Marawi city Mayor Majul Gandamra urged members of the Muslim and Christian communities to remain united.</p>
<p>&#8216;Our city has long been a beacon of peaceful coexistence and harmony, and we will not allow such acts of violence to overshadow our collective commitment to peace and unity,&#8217; Gandamra said in a statement condemning the attack.</p>
<p><em><strong>Credit: The Mail</strong></em></p>

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