MANILA, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Islamic State militants claimed responsibility for a deadly bombing at a Catholic Mass in the Philippines on Sunday that killed at least four people and injured 50 others.

The attack was carried out in a university gymnasium in Marawi, a city in the south of the country besieged by Islamist militants for five months in 2017.

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    At least four people were killed and at least 50 injured after a bomb exploded during a morning Catholic Mass in a university gymnasium in Marawi, a city in the south of the country besieged by Islamist militants for five months in 2017.

    In Rome, Pope Francis offered prayers for the victims during his Sunday address, and, in a separate written message, appealed to “Christ the prince of peace (to) grant to all the strength to turn from violence and overcome every evil with good.”

    Law enforcement operations to bring to justice the perpetrators of the “terrorist activity” will “continue unabated”, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro told a press conference.

    The blast in Marawi, capital of Lanao del Sur province, followed a series of military operations against local pro-Islamic State groups in the southern Philippines, the military chief said, including one on Sunday in Lanao del Sur that led to the killing of a leader of the Dawlah Islamiya-Maute group.

    Military officials surveyed the gym at the Mindanao State University, which appeared intact except for burn marks in the centre where the explosion occurred, according to images shared by the Lanao del Sur government on Facebook.

    Mindanao State University is “deeply saddened and appalled by the act of violence that occurred during a religious gathering,” the school posted on Facebook.


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