5-12-2023 (MANILA) Philippine authorities are intensifying efforts to apprehend four men, including two associated with a local militant group, in connection with the recent deadly bombing during a Catholic mass in Marawi, the country’s largest Muslim city. The attack occurred inside a university gymnasium and claimed four lives, with 50 others sustaining injuries. Islamic State (IS) subsequently claimed responsibility for the bombing.
President Ferdinand Marcos attributed the assault to “foreign terrorists,” while the police identified two Filipino men, both with criminal records, seen inside the gym before the explosion. Witnesses reported their suspicious behaviour, prompting suspicions of their involvement. Authorities have not yet disclosed the identities of the other two men or the motive behind the attack.
The two Filipino suspects are linked to a militant group with a history of involvement in bombing incidents in Mindanao, according to police spokeswoman Colonel Jean Fajardo. However, she refrained from revealing the group’s name. General Romeo Brawner, the army chief, suggested that the attack might be in retaliation for recent military operations against three militant groups: Dawlah Islamiyah-Philippines, Abu Sayyaf, and Maute.
One military operation targeted an Abu Sayyaf “bomb expert,” allegedly responsible for the 2019 deadly attack on a cathedral in Jolo. Pro-Islamic State Maute and Abu Sayyaf militants, both foreign and local, previously besieged Marawi in 2017. The Philippine military reclaimed the city after a five-month battle, resulting in over 1,000 casualties.
General Brawner dismissed claims of intelligence failure, asserting that there should have been “more security measures in place” after the military warned of possible retaliatory attacks. The region has witnessed decades-long unrest, marked by militant attacks on buses, Catholic churches, and public markets. A peace pact signed in 2014 between Manila and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the nation’s largest rebel group, ended their armed rebellion. Despite this, smaller groups of Muslim fighters opposing the peace deal, along with those pledging allegiance to IS, continue to pose security challenges. Communist rebels also operate in the region.
