Islamic State Takes Responsibility for Church Bombing in the DRC

The Islamic State Takes Responsibility for a Church Bombing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The bombing of a church in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo was blamed on Islamic militants on Monday, as police reported that at least 14 people had died as a result of the attack on Sunday.

According to reports from the Islamic State organisation and its Aamaq news outlet, its militants blew off an explosive inside the Kasindi Pentecostal church while worshippers were worshipping.

The group issued a statement saying, “Let the Congolese forces know that their ongoing attacks on the Mujahideen would only bring them more defeats and losses.”

Extremists claimed that 20 Christians were murdered by the device. Authorities in the Congo reported 14 fatalities and at least 63 injuries as of Monday.

READ ALSO: Church Bomb Kills 6, According to Congo’s Army; Extremists Suspected

Officials say that the injured people were taken to Beni General Hospital by the MONUSCO U.N. peacekeeping team.

As more than 120 armed groups and self-defense militias battle for territory and power, violence has plagued eastern Congo for decades. According to the U.N., there are about 6 million people who are internally displaced, and hundreds of thousands of them are severely food insecure.

Attacks have been carried out in Kasindi, a town on the Ugandan border, by members of the Allied Democratic Forces, a rebel group thought to have ties to the Islamic State.

The Ugandan army has sent troops to the eastern Congo to try to stop the fighting, but attacks have become more common and are happening in more places.

In attacks since April, the ADF has murdered at least 370 civilians and kidnapped hundreds more, according to a report released by the UN last month.