Philippine Terror Attack Kills at Least 20, Threatens Peace Hopes For Muslim Self-Rule by Jake Maxwell Watts – Wall Street Journal
Twin explosions at a Roman Catholic cathedral in the southern Philippines killed at least 20 people in a bloody demonstration of remaining extremist threats in a Muslim-majority region where voters last week overwhelmingly backed self-rule and ratified a peace deal between the government and mainstream separatists.
The first bomb blasted wooden pews to splinters and killed worshipers attending an early morning Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the city of Jolo, in Sulu province on Sunday. A second bomb outside the cathedral ripped through the fleeing congregants and killed first responders working at the scene, security forces said.
Islamic State claimed responsibility through its Amaq News Agency, according to SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist groups online. Philippine officials said the attack bore the hallmarks of Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic State ally that rejects the peace deal…