At least 19 killed in Philippines church bombings
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At least 19 people have been killed and 48 wounded by twins bombings at a cathedral in the southern Philippines, according to police and the military. The first bomb went off inside the Jolo cathedral around 8am on Sunday during mass.
Then as security forces responded another bomb went off in a parking lot outside the church as security forces responded to the first, National Police Chief Oscar Albayalde said.
“We don’t know if the death toll will still go up,” Albayalde told Manila radio station DZMM.
Police and military reports said the casualties included both troops and civilians.
Photos on social media showed debris and bodies lying on a busy street outside the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, which has been hit by bombs in the past.
Jolo Cathedral worshippers were hit by two blasts. Picture: Flickr
Jolo Cathedral worshippers were hit by two blasts. Picture: FlickrSource:Supplied
Troops in armoured carriers sealed off the main road leading to the church while vehicles were transporting the dead and wounded to the hospital. Some casualties were evacuated by air to nearby Zamboanga city.
“I have directed our troops to heighten their alert level, secure all places of worships and public places at once, and initiate proactive security measures to thwart hostile plans,” said Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana in a statement.
Jolo island has long been troubled by the presence of Abu Sayyaf militants, who are black-listed by the United States and the Philippines as a terrorist organisation because of years of bombings, kidnappings and beheadings.
No one has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. It came nearly a week after minority Muslims in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation endorsed a new autonomous region in the southern Philippines in hopes of ending nearly five decades of a separatist rebellion that has left 150,000 people dead.
Although most of the Muslim areas approved the autonomy deal, voters in Sulu province, where Jolo is located, rejected it.
The province is home to a rival rebel faction that’s opposed to the deal as well as the Abu Sayyaf group, which is not part of any peace process. Western governments have welcomed the autonomy pact.
They worry that small numbers of Islamic State-linked militants from the Middle East and Southeast Asia could forge an alliance with Filipino insurgents and turn the south into a breeding ground for extremists.
Source: https://www.news.com.au/world/asia/at-least-19-killed-in-philippines-church-bombings/news-story/f39fb2b873a4094b7496a2858ee7df39
