ISIS-backed AFD kill at least 21 in church bombing in eastern Congo
2 Min Read
Armed militants from the Allied Democratic Forces, supported by ISIS, launched a deadly attack on a Catholic church in eastern Congo’s Komanda region, killing over 21 people and setting homes ablaze.
-
A destroyed catholic church after being bombed by the ISIS-linked ADF in eastern Congo, July 27, 2025 (Social media)
On Sunday, armed men affiliated with the ISIS-backed Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) carried out a terrorist attack on a Catholic church in eastern Congo.
According to Dieudonné Duranthabo, a civil society coordinator in Komanda, “More than 21 people were killed inside and outside the church. We recovered at least three charred bodies, and several homes were burned,” the Associated Press reported.
According to the details, the attack occurred around 1 a.m. on Sunday inside a Catholic church in the Komanda area in eastern Congo. Several homes and shops were also set on fire.
Over the past few years, the ADF has been increasingly active in eastern Congo, carrying out devastating attacks, targeting churches, schools, and crowded public spaces. Suicide bombings, previously uncommon in the region, began to occur, and operations increasingly resembled those of ISIS in the Middle East and Africa.
Over 7,000 killed in Eastern DR Congo since January: PM
This also comes as violence tears through eastern DRC, with the ongoing conflict claiming the lives of "more than 7,000 compatriots" since January, as reported only a month later in February, many of whom were civilians, according to Congolese Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka.
Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday, she said the situation in the region had reached "alarming levels."
The Rwanda-backed M23 militant group has seized significant portions of the mineral-rich region, including the cities of Goma and Bukavu, with limited resistance from Congolese forces.
Prime Minister Tuluka reported that over 2,500 bodies have been buried unceremoniously, while another 1,500 are still in morgues. She noted that while the identities of all the deceased haven't been confirmed, "there is a significant mass of civilians" among the victims.
