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.
They should just fight the Sulu militant and pirate and cull both of their number down to zero.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
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.
The original article contains 486 words, the summary contains 219 words. Saved 55%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
Great. Heres hoping this doesn’t trigger a regional plauge of copycats.
They are not islamic, just assholes. It’s not about religion, it’s about power through violence with religious public relations.
That being said, religion could be a harmless hobby-like tradition if only practiced privately and unorganized and if it doesn’t affect the rest of us.They are Islamic terrorists assholes. Religion backs those beliefs. I doubt it would be harmless because look where we’re at.
They justify it with religion, that’s right. They pick whatever suits them out of their believe system. But as cruel as these cases are (and it feels like they are increasing again) it’s still not all moslems vs. us. It’s (not only religious) cultural differences, poverty, isolation, lack of education, information bubble and echo chamber which leads to radicalization. These are big political problems. Please see my reply to Zeroxxx if you are interested in my opinion about religion at all.
Thank you for your response. I appreciate a different view. I agree it’s a difficult situation to discuss. Education is important which is why I think private practices wouldn’t solve anything. Abrahamic religions started private-ish . Maybe all religions started private-ish. Only a select few. Misinformation trickles down to the uneducated for answers to why and not how. Animism should be considered again
They are islamic, no need to hide it.
It is funny, just like don’t say Crusader is not related to Christianity but the second Islam is mentioned in negative view, it is quickly said NOT ISLAM!
…for what?
It is strange for me, who grew up Christian in a Western country but am now agnostic, to argue in favor of Islam. My intention was to say that we wouldn’t have many problems if all religion would be purely a private matter (private in the sense of not forcing faith on anyone, not even family members). It would be interesting to see how long backward ideologies and restrictive rules would last. I am tired of having to set the Old Testament and the Crusades and missionary work against the Koran.
Some passages in the Koran and the Bible sound completely unacceptable today and nobody should feel morally bound to them in this century.I don’t want to trivialize the current events in the Philippines and France and maybe it’s the wrong moment to discuss religion on such tragedies. If someone uses violence to achieve their goals, they are a terrorist and shouldn’t have a place in society, regardless of whether they receive their inspiration from the right, left or above.
I am shocked by what feels like a renewed increase in such attacks, hence my comment. I don’t wanted to start whataboutism to defend them.
