A powerful explosion believed caused by a bomb ripped through a Catholic Mass and killed at least four people and wounded dozens of others Sunday in a predominantly Muslim city in the southern Philippines, officials said.
The morning mass was under way in a gymnasium at the state-run Marawi State University in Marawi city when the explosion happened, causing panic among dozens of worshippers and leaving the victims bloodied and sprawled on the ground, said Taha Mandangan, the security chief of the sprawling state-run campus.
At least two of the wounded were fighting for their lives, Mandangan said.
“This is clearly an act of terrorism. It’s not a simple feud between two people. A bomb will kill everybody around,” Mandangan told the Associated Press by telephone.
Army troops and police immediately cordoned off the area and were conducting an initial investigation and checking security cameras for any indication of who may have been responsible for the attack. Security checkpoints were set up around the city.
