Arrijal Rachman, CNBC Indonesia
Sunday, 12/03/2023 20:45 IWST
Photo: Bombs exploded in a southern Philippine city on Monday (24/8/20), killing several soldiers and injuring other military. (AP/NICKEE BUTLANGAN)
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. stated that the bombing during Catholic Mass at the Mindanao State University gymnasium in Marawi, Southern Philippines, on Sunday morning (3/12/2023) was carried out by foreign terrorists.
“I strongly condemn the senseless and most heinous acts committed by foreign terrorists,” Marcos said as quoted by Reuters, Sunday.
“Extremists who commit violence against innocent people will always be considered enemies of our society,” he stressed.
Four people died and around 50 people were injured as a result of the bomb explosion. According to Reuters records, Marawi is a city in the southern Philippines that was besieged by Islamic militants for five months in 2017.
Philippine Defense Minister Gilberto Teodoro said law enforcement operations to bring “terrorist” perpetrators to justice would “continue”. He said this at a press conference.
Teodoro also mentioned that there were “strong indications of foreign elements” in the bombing. Even so, he refused to explain further about the foreign party, so as not to interfere with the ongoing investigation.
An official at the Philippine Police, Emmanuel Peralta, said that 16 mm mortar fragments were also found at the scene. Commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Romeo Brawn, also said that the explosion occurred after a military operation was carried out against local pro-ISIS groups in the Southern Philippines.
“There is a possibility that what happened this morning was a retaliatory attack,” he said.
The military attack was previously aimed at the Dawlah Islamiyah-Maute group. The Maute group is closely linked to ISIS. After capturing Marawi in May 2017, they sought to make it a wilayat or branch area in Southeast Asia for ISIS.
As a result of the bomb blast, police stations in Mindanao and the capital region were alerted and police checkpoints tightened “to prevent possible further incidents,” said Peralta police officials.
Mindanao State University is suspending classes until further notice.
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2023-12-03 13:45:00
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