Bomb explodes at restaurant in eastern Congo; 7 dead

BENI, Congo (AP) — A weaponry exploded astatine a edifice Saturday arsenic patrons gathered connected Christmas Day, sidesplitting astatine slightest 7 radical successful an eastbound Congolese municipality wherever Islamic extremists are known to beryllium active.

Heavy gunfire rang retired soon aft the weaponry went off, with panicked crowds fleeing the town’s center.

Mayor Narcisse Muteba Kashale, who is besides a constabulary colonel, said astatine slightest 2 of the victims were children. Wounded survivors were taken to the section hospital, helium said.

“Investigations are underway to find the perpetrators of this violent attack,” helium told The Associated Press.

The municipality has agelong been targeted by rebels from the Allied Democratic Forces, oregon ADF, a radical that traces its origins to neighboring Uganda. But an Islamic State radical affiliate claimed work for 2 explosions successful Beni successful June, deepening fears that spiritual extremism has taken clasp determination too.

Those explosions included the archetypal known termination bombing successful eastbound Congo, a Ugandan antheral who blew himself up extracurricular of a bar. The Islamic State group’s Central Africa Province aboriginal said that the termination bomber was targeting Christians. The different detonation that time went disconnected wrong a Catholic church, wounding 2 people.

Residents of the municipality person repeatedly expressed choler implicit the ongoing insecurity contempt an service violative and the beingness of U.N. peacekeepers successful Beni. In caller years, the municipality besides has suffered done an Ebola epidemic and has seen respective smaller outbreaks of the disease.