Asean strongly condemns ‘heinous terrorist attack’ in Philippines
Sign up now: Get insights on Asia's fast-moving developments
Four people were killed in a bombing at a Roman Catholic mass in Marawi in the Philippines on Dec 3.
PHOTO: AFP
MANILA - The South-east Asian bloc Asean on Dec 8 strongly condemned what it called a “heinous terrorist attack” in the southern Philippines at the weekend, in which four people were killed in a bombing at a Roman Catholic mass.
The bomb went off on Dec 3 during a service at a university gymnasium in Marawi, a city left in ruins in 2017 by a five-month military campaign to end an occupation by Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) loyalists that triggered alarm in Asia about the group’s influence.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the bereaved families,” Asean said in a statement.
ISIS militants claimed responsibility for the Dec 3 attack.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said “foreign terrorists” were behind it. Police said they were investigating the incident and validating the claim by the ISIS group.
Police had identified as suspects two members of Daulah-Islamiyah Maute, a local group involved in the 2017 seizure of Marawi alongside fighters from Indonesia, Malaysia and beyond.
The Philippine military on Dec 8 announced the arrest two days earlier in Marawi of a man suspected of placing the bomb in the gymnasium, after he was identified by witnesses. REUTERS
