Mindanao State University bombing

On the morning of December 3, 2023, an improvised explosive device detonated at around 7:30 a.m. during a Catholic Mass held at the Dimaporo Gymnasium of Mindanao State University (MSU) in Marawi, a Muslim-majority city in the Bangsamoro autonomous region of the southern Philippines. The Mass, presided over by Franciscan priest Benigno Flores Jr., who survived, had approximately 72 attendees. The explosion occurred after the Kyrie portion of the liturgy and killed four people — two college professors and two students — while injuring at least 50 others. Police stated the attack was not a suicide bombing. CCTV footage showed two suspected bombers arriving on a motorcycle about 27 minutes before the blast and remaining at the scene for roughly eight minutes; an eyewitness reported seeing a man place a bag believed to contain the explosive device. A bomb threat targeting Marawi, without a specified target, had reportedly circulated the night before.

MSU's gymnasium was used for Sunday Mass because the campus's small chapel could not accommodate the congregation. The university's unfenced, seven-barangay campus had operated under a special security arrangement that barred military and police deployment prior to the bombing. Marawi itself was the site of a five-month siege in 2017 between Islamic State-affiliated insurgents and the Armed Forces of the Philippines that killed more than 1,100 people.

On the day of the bombing, Islamic State claimed responsibility, a claim authorities said was still being validated; the Maute Group and Abu Sayyaf were also named as possible perpetrators. Authorities speculated the attack may have been retaliation for recent government operations against the Dawlah Islamiyah group, which had suffered numerous casualties in the weeks before the bombing. The Philippine National Police named several "persons of interest," including Arseni Lumen Membisa ("Lapitos") and Wahab Sandigan Macabayao, along with Kadapi Mimbesa ("Engineer"), an alleged explosives expert who had twice enrolled at MSU without completing his studies. None of these individuals have been reported as convicted. Jafar Gamo Sultan was arrested on December 6, 2023, and two additional suspects were arrested on December 9, 2023. On January 26, 2024, a suspect identified only as "Omar" was killed in a firefight with the Philippine Army; the AFP later confirmed on February 12, 2024, that Membisa had also died in that clash, based on information from a surrendered militant. The bombing prompted the suspension of MSU classes, evacuation of roughly 600 students, national and international condemnation, a Philippine House resolution labeling it a terrorist attack, and a joint PNP-AFP security operation. Pope Francis publicly prayed for the victims, who were later included in the Vatican's New Martyrs catalogue. Disinformation and hate speech concerns emerged following the attack, including a fabricated quote falsely attributed to a Bangsamoro government official.