Church bombing kills at least 10 in attack claimed by IS group

BENI: At least 10 people were killed and 39 wounded on Sunday in a bomb attack on a church in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo claimed by Islamic State jihadists.

Congolese military spokesman Antony Mualushayi 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 wounded 39, he added, revising up an initial death toll of five. Both tolls were provisional, the spokesman said.

But 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 wounded.

“The attackers used an IED to carry out the attack and we suspect ADF is behind the attack,” he added.

The death toll could not be independently confirmed.

The DRC’s communications ministry said on social media that the attack was apparently carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) — which the

Islamic State group claims as its affiliate in central Africa.

The ADF is one of the deadliest of the more than 120 armed groups in eastern DRC, many of them the legacy of regional wars that flared at the turn of the century in the vast impoverished nation.

It has been accused of slaughtering thousands of Congolese civilians and carrying out bomb attacks in Uganda. ADF operatives have also planted bombs in towns in North Kivu in the past.

On Sunday evening, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack and said “nearly 20” people had been killed, according to the specialised monitoring group Site intelligence group.

Army spokesman Mualushayi said 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 said.

“God saved me and I came out in good health with my choir members. Today was not the day I should die,” he added.

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.

“The bomb threw me at least 100 metres away,” he said.

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?” Mr 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”.