16 Killed, Church Burned When Suspected Islamic Terrorists Attack Village in Africa's DRC

Sixteen people were killed and a Catholic church burned down when Islamic terrorists attacked a village in the African nation of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Reuters reports 13 civilians and three soldiers were killed on Feb. 14 by terrorists when they opened fire after entering the village of Ndalya located about 60 miles south of the city of Bunia. The village is located in the northeastern part of the country which is near Uganda.

Human rights groups say the terrorists also burned down a Catholic church during the raid. Arriving on the scene, the DRC military engaged the terrorists in a short firefight.

"For the moment our troops are occupying the village after this attack which cost civilian lives," DRC army spokesman Jules Ngongo Tshikudi, told the news agency, adding that three soldiers and four assailants were killed when the army drove them back.

It was not immediately clear to military officials which group carried out the attack. Tshikudi blamed the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan armed group active in eastern Congo since the 1990s. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for some suspected ADF attacks, but UN officials have not verified any link between the two terrorist organizations.

Reuters noted that Congo's eastern borderlands with Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi are home to more than 100 different militias, many remnants of its brutal...

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