A child sings inside the Mulamo Baptist Church in the Kyala neighbourhood of Butembo, North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo, November 10, 2016. (Eduardo Soteras, AFP)
Beni: The army in the Democratic Republic of Congo said on Sunday a bomb had exploded in a church in the eastern province of North Kivu, without giving casualty numbers.
In a statement sent to reporters, military spokesman Antony Mualushayi said the "terrorist act" occurred in a pentecostal church in the town of Kasindi in North Kivu, which lies on the border with Uganda.
"The security services have already taken control of the place and the injured have been evacuated to local health facilities," Mualushayi said, adding that an investigation was underway.
Details on the ground are hazy and the number of casualties from the improvised explosive device remains unclear.
The DR Congo's communications ministry said on social media on Sunday that the attack was apparently perpetrated by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) group.
The ADF -- which the Islamic State group claims as its affiliate in Central Africa -- is active in the Kasindi area.
The explosion caused deaths and injuries, the ministry added, but did not provide further details.
"Investigations are underway to detect the origin of this terrorist act," it said.
The ADF has been accused of slaughtering thousands of Congolese civilians and carrying out bomb attacks in neighbouring Uganda.
It has planted bombs in towns in North Kivu in the past.
Since 2021 a joint Ugandan-Congolese military operation has been targeting the ADF in North Kivu and neighbouring Ituri province.
Over 120 armed groups roam mineral-rich eastern DRC, many of which are the legacy of regional wars that flared at the turn of the century.
