At least four people have been killed after an explosion rocked a Catholic Mass in the southern Philippines on Sunday morning.
The incident occurred at the gymnasium of Mindanao State University in Marawi, the country’s largest Muslim city.
Forty-two others suffered various degree of injuries.
In 2017, Marawi was the scene of a five-month battle between government forces and militants with links to the Islamic State group.
The Daulah Islamiyah-Maute as the group is known could be behind Sunday’s bombing, said Brig Gen Allan Nobleza, the police commander in the region.
Gen Nobleza said 11 of its members died in an encounter with the Philippine Army last Friday in neighbouring Datu Hoffer Ampatuan town – suggesting Sunday’s explosion could be a form of retaliation.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr condemned the blast as a “senseless and most heinous” act, which was “perpetrated by foreign terrorists”.
He appealed to the public to remain calm. “Rest assured, we will bring the perpetrators of this ruthless act to justice,” he said.
Masses on Sunday drew larger crowds than usual across the Philippines as it is the start of Advent, the Catholic Church’s four-week vigil to Christmas Day.
Nearly 80% of the country’s 113 million population are Catholic and it is not uncommon for school gymnasiums and even shopping malls to designate areas for Sunday Mass, especially in places where there are no churches.
Mindanao is home to the country’s Muslim minority and has borne the brunt of insurgency and extremist violence.
