Worshipers killed as bomb detonates during DRC church service | CNN

CNN
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Worshipers at a church service in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were killed Sunday when a bomb was detonated by a group with links to Islamic State, the government said.

At least 12 people have been killed and at least 50 wounded when a bomb detonated during church service Sunday in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to the government and the UN.

The attack was “visibly perpetrated” by members of the rebel group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which has ties with ISIS, “against citizens in full worship in the parish of the 8th Community of Pentecostal Churches of Congo” in the city of Kasindi in North Kivu, DRC’s Communications Ministry said Sunday, adding, “the government strongly condemns the bomb attack.”

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack through its Amaaq propaganda news agency, which claimed ISIS fighters planted an improvised explosive device (IED) in the church.

CNN is unable to independently verify those claims.

UN Spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said in a statement Sunday that the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) “is supporting the Congolese authorities in conducting the investigation into the circumstances of the incident.”

“The Secretary-General reiterates that the United Nations, through his Special Representative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, will continue to support the Congolese Government and people in their efforts to bring peace and stability in the east of the country,” Dujarric said in the statement.

The UN peacekeeping force in the country, MONUSCO, also condemned “the cowardly and despicable attack” on Sunday and presented its condolences “to the families of the victims, to the Congolese people and to the government” of DRC.

Waves of violence have persisted in DRC’s North Kivu province, despite efforts by the government and international peacekeepers to curb it.