Bomb blast at DRC church kills 10, Islamic State claims responsibility
At least 10 people were killed and 39 injured on Sunday in a bomb attack on a church in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The terrorist action has since been claimed by Islamic State jihadists.
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A Congolese military spokesman said the "terrorist act" happened in a Pentecostal church in North Kivu province's Kasindi, a town on the border with Uganda.
The explosion killed at least 10 people and injured 39, he added, revising an initial death toll of five. Both tolls were provisional, the spokesman said.
The spokesman for Uganda's military operation in the DRC, Bilal Katamba, said on Sunday evening that 16 people had been killed in the blast, and 20 hurt.
"The attackers used an improvised explosive device to carry out the attack and we suspect ADF is behind the attack," he added. ADF is the Allied Democratic Forces, which the Islamic State terror organisation claims as its affiliate in central Africa.
The ADF is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous of the more than 120 armed groups in eastern DRC.
ADF militants have been accused of slaughtering thousands of Congolese civilians and carrying out bomb attacks in Uganda. ADF operatives have planted bombs in towns in North Kivu in the past.
IS claims responsibility
On Sunday evening, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack and said "nearly 20" people had been killed, according to the specialised monitor, the Site intelligence group.
A Kenyan suspect was arrested after the attack.
A deacon at the evangelical church in Kasindi, Esdras Kambale Mupanya, said worshippers had gathered for a baptism ceremony before the bomb detonated.
"Several among us died on the spot, others had their feet cut in two," the 42-year-old told the French AFP news agency. "God saved me and I came out in good health with my choir members. Today was not the day I should die."
Fellow survivor Jean-Paul Syauswa said the explosion happened just after a group of people had been baptised, while a blind pastor was commenting on Bible verses.
Kiza Kivua, a 50-year-old farmer who lost his brother in the attack, said he was having trouble coming to terms with the loss of a "loved one who went to church to pray".
He added that he thought the government was neglecting its citizens.
"How can such a situation happen when Kasindi is full of soldiers?" Kivua said.
The DRC's presidency condemned the bombing, as did the United Nations peacekeeping mission which described it as a "cowardly and despicable attack".
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