The Islamic State-claimed bombing of a Catholic cathedral that killed 20 in Jolo, Sulu put fresh pressure Monday on peace efforts aimed at ending decades of separatist violence.
Two explosions tore through the cathedral, shattering pews and windows, on the Muslim-majority island of Sulu, killing worshippers at Sunday mass and security forces in one the nation’s worst bombings in years.
Experts voiced concern Monday over the impact the attack would have on a decades-long push for peace that culminated last week in voters approving expanded Muslim self-rule in the South.
The vote was the result of negotiations started in the 1990s with the nation’s largest rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and will give it considerable power over the so-called Bangsamoro region.
The IS claim, in a formal communique, said two suicide bombers had detonated explosive belts, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist activities.
But a military report said the second bomb was left in the utility box of a motorcycle in the parking area outside the church. Police said they believe the explosives were detonated remotely, but did elaborate.
Despite the contradictions, authorities have not ruled out IS involvement.
Jihadist factions aligned with the group – including the notorious Abu Sayyaf kidnap-for-ransom group – which were not part of the peace process, are prime suspects in the bombing.
The remote island of Sulu is a base of the group, which is blamed for deadly bombings, including an attack on a ferry in Manila Bay in 2004 that claimed 116 lives in the country’s deadliest terror assault.
“This is a big challenge for the Bangsamoro government,’’ said Rommel Banlaoi, chairperson of the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research.
The former rebels need to show they will be able to pull the region toward peace in order to attract much-needed investment to alleviate poverty and counter extremism, he said.
“MILF needs to prove it can make a difference… the gravity of the problem faced by MILF is wow, so overwhelming,’’ he added.
The church attack came despite President Duterte putting the southern Philippines under martial law after pro-IS militants seized Marawi City in May 2017.
Government officials have argued that martial law, which gives authorities extra powers, has been effective in taming the perpetually restive region. (AFP)
