Bomb explodes at Cotabato Cathedral during Mass
MANILA, July 5, 2009— Five people were killed when a bomb exploded Sunday outside a Roman Catholic church packed with worshippers in Cotabato City.
A Christian leader said the attack this morning marked as one of the “saddest days” in the history of the Church in the predominantly Muslim city, about 545 miles south of Manila.
The Immaculate Conception Cathedral was jammed with hundreds of people when the device went off at the early part of the Mass, creating panic as people rushed for the exits.
It was a powerful improvised bomb which had been planted by still unknown perpetrators a meter away from the church’s main gate, reports from the Cotabato City police said.
The explosion occurred around 8:40 a.m. while Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo was delivering his homily.
Around 35 people were also reportedly wounded in the explosion. (CBCPNews)
(slightly edited for RC)
