In the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, a bombing that occurred during a Protestant church service left at least 15 people injured and five people dead (DRC).
The attack on the Sunday service in Kasindi, which is near the Ugandan border, was likely carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an armed organization in Uganda that has sworn allegiance to ISIL, according to an army official (ISIS).
“Despite the security measures put in place, the first indications show that it is the ADF which is behind this bomb attack,” Anthony Mualushay told Reuters news agency.
“I just came back from the scene, where I saw the bodies of children on the ground,” Alain Kitsa, a Kasindi resident, said, describing the atmosphere in the town as tense.
The bombing has not been linked to the ADF, an uprising that started in Uganda but has been based in the DRC since the late 1990s.
Kasindi is located in a province where the ADF is being attacked by Congolese and Ugandan soldiers.
It is suspected of killing hundreds of civilians in numerous attacks over the past two years before it swore allegiance to ISIL in the middle of 2019.
The mineral-rich eastern DRC is home to more than 120 armed factions, many of which were left over from local conflicts that erupted at the turn of the century.
