At least 38 people were killed and 15 others injured when armed militants stormed a Catholic church in Komanda, a key town in the troubled Ituri province of northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), officials said on Sunday.
The attack was carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an armed group formed by Ugandan rebels and now affiliated with the Islamic State group, according to regional authorities. Witnesses said the militants used both firearms and machetes, storming the church during a Sunday mass and slaughtering worshippers inside.
Several people remain missing following the attack, which was confirmed by a military spokesperson in Ituri, who stated that the perpetrators were identified as ADF militants.
Komanda, where the assault took place, serves as a commercial crossroads linking Ituri with the neighboring provinces of Tshopo, North Kivu, and Maniema — regions that have all seen repeated violence in recent years.
This marks one of the deadliest incidents since the ADF last struck in February, killing 23 people in the Mambasa area. The group has been active in the DRC for decades but significantly intensified its operations after pledging allegiance to the Islamic State in 2019, operating under the banner of “Islamic State Central Africa Province” (ISCAP).
Despite a joint military offensive launched in 2021 by the Congolese and Ugandan armies to root out the group, deadly attacks have continued across eastern DRC, with thousands of civilians killed or displaced in the past four years.
