ISIS claims responsibility in Marawi blast as PBBM vows to run after perpetrators

The foreign terror group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for the bombing at the gymnasium of the Marawi City campus of the Mindanao State University (MSU) that left four dead and around 50 others injured on Sunday, Dec. 3. 

This, after President Marcos tagged a foreign terror group as responsible for the attack as he vowed to run after all those involved.

Gen. Rome Brawner, Jr., chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), said they monitored the possible involvement of the ISIS and its Daulah Islamiyah and Maute Group contacts in the country through a post on social media.

“They claimed responsibility for the attack, we monitored this on the dark web and so we are looking into the possibility that they really perpetrated this terroristic act,” said Brawner.

The deadly bombing triggered heightened security alerts in the region and around Metro Manila.

Marcos has vowed to run after those responsible and assured the public that the government is on top of the situation and helping the victims of the terrorist attack.

The President also extended his condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims, as he blamed foreign terrorists behind the bombing attack. 

“I condemn in the strongest possible terms the senseless and most heinous acts perpetrated by foreign terrorists upon the Mindanao State University (MSU) and Marawi communities early this Sunday morning. Extremists who wield violence against the innocent will always be regarded as enemies to our society,” Marcos said in a statement.

“I extend my most heartfelt condolences to the victims, their loved ones, and the communities that have been the target of this latest assault on peace. Government assistance to those impacted is ready and forthcoming,” he added.

Marcos said that the government is now working closely with the regional government of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and the concerned local government units for their swift response in what he called as the “latest assault on peace.”

Brawner said the Marawi bombing could be a retaliatory attack because of the death of several key personalities of local terror groups that include ISIS contacts in the Philippines.

“All of these successes in our military operations might have led to the retaliatory attack that was perpetrated by local terrorists,” said Brawner. 

Brawner said additional security arrangements were done after the bombing, including the mandatory checking of bags of all people entering the Marawi City campus of the Mindanao State University and the deployment of soldiers and policemen in the campus premises.

Police and military forces in Mindanao are also on alert to prevent similar attacks while police forces in Metro Manila are on heightened alert for possible spillover of bomb attacks.

“We want to assure the students that they are safe inside the campus. That’s why we are calling on especially the Christian students, because they left after the bombing, to come back for their education,” said Brawner.

Currently, all classes at the MSU-Marawi City campus are suspended and school officials said they might look into a hybrid type of arrangement.