Grenade attack on mosque in southern Philippines

 SMTV Desk 2019-01-30 15:12:41  Mosque attack in Southern Philippines, Zamboanga
Grenade attack on mosque in southern Philippines

Two people were killed while three others were been wounded in an early morning grenade attack at a Zamboanga City mosque in the southern Philippines on Wednesday, three days after twin bombings at a church on a nearby island killed 21 people. According to Police, the attack at the Logoy Diutay, Barangay Talon-Talon mosque took place at 12:20 a.m.

The wounded individuals were taken to the Zamboanga City Medical Center for treatment. The victims are preachers from Lamitan and Isabela towns in Basilan who were in the city to conduct preaching activities. They were asleep inside the mosque as part of preparations for a scheduled early morning prayer when the incident happened. The police are conducting an investigation to determine the motive of the bombing and if there were threats or squabbles that involved the victims.






Regional task force commander Col. Leonel Nicolas stressed the incident was "not a retaliatory act." The attack came a few hours after Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on television the twin explosions that killed 21 people on Jolo island may have been a suicide attack. His comments ran counter to those of other security officials but, if confirmed, it would be one of the first known cases of a suicide attack in the Philippines and consistent with the Islamic State group s claim made via its Amaq news agency.






It s been identified that Muslims are a minority in the predominantly Catholic Philippines and represent about a quarter of the population of the Mindanao region. The Ulama Council of Zamboanga Peninsula condemned what it called a "devilish, irrational and inhumane act" and urged people to be vigilant.