Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 4) — The organization behind the bombing during a Catholic mass at a gymnasium in Marawi City clearly wants to attack a specific group and cause a rift between Muslims and Christians, a lawmaker said on Monday.
“The intention really of this radical organization and extremism is to sow division and disunity among peoples especially in Marawi City where there is a thriving and healthy relationship between Muslims and Christians,” Lanao del Sur Representative Zia Alonto Adiong told CNN Philippines’ The Source.
He thinks the goal of the perpetrators of Sunday’s blast that killed at least four people is to make it look like it’s a religious war when it is actually a criminal and terroristic act.
He noted this is similar to the Jolo Cathedral bombing in 2019 that killed at least 20 people.
CNN reported on Monday that ISIS has claimed responsibility for the explosion at the Dimaporo Gymnasium in Mindanao State University that also left more than 40 others injured.
In a communique, ISIS said its fighters “detonated an explosive device on a large gathering of Christian disbelievers in Marawi City,” according to the SITE Intelligence Group, a counterterrorism threat intelligence organization that tracks the online activity of extremist groups.
Adiong said another possible intention behind the bombing was to retaliate for the series of military operations conducted in Mindanao.
“We know how the terrorist organization operates,\” he added. \”Their numbers may be dwindling but they are still capable and they are still a threat to our security.”
Adiong believes the attack was meant to coincide with the celebration of the Mindanao Week of Peace. He also said there were definitely security lapses since no similar incident happened in the past when religious activities were held in the same gymnasium.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has condemned the attack and blamed it on foreign terrorists.
“I condemn in the strongest possible terms the senseless and most heinous acts perpetrated by foreign terrorists upon the Mindanao State University and Marawi communities early this Sunday morning. Extremists who wield violence against the innocent will always be regarded as enemies to our society,” he said in an earlier statement.
