Philippine church suicide bombings committed by couple

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A deadly church bombing that shook the southern Philippines on the weekend was a suicide attack carried out by an Indonesian couple with the help of ISIL, which earlier claimed responsibility for the attack, the Philippine interior minister said on Friday.

Citing information provided by witnesses and undisclosed sources, Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano said he was certain that an Indonesian man and wife were behind Sunday's attack on the mainly Muslim island of Jolo, which killed 22 people and wounded more than 100, including civilians and soldiers.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (C) inspects the damaged area of a Catholic cathedral in Jolo town, Sulu province on the southern island of Mindanao, January 28, 2019. / VCG Photo

Security officials had initially said the two bombs were detonated remotely, but by Tuesday, that changed after President Rodrigo Duterte said it may have been a suicide bomber, a view supported by his defense minister.

The twin explosions happened at 8:00 a.m. local time on January 27 at the Jolo Cathedral in Jolo, Sulu. The victims are mostly Roman Catholic churchgoers attending the Sunday mass, according to local authorities.

(Top image: Philippine soldiers escort a hearse during the funeral procession of a victim killed in the January 27 cathedral bombing in Jolo, Sulu province on the southern island of Mindanao, January 30, 2019.)

Source(s): Reuters