GOMA, Congo (AP) — Islamic State-backed rebels attacked a Catholic church in eastern Congo on Sunday, killing at least 34 people, according to a local civil society leader.
Dieudonne Duranthabo, a civil society coordinator in Komanda, in the Ituri province, told The Associated Press that the attackers stormed the church in Komanda town at around 1 a.m. Several houses and shops were also burnt.
"The bodies of the victims are still at the scene of the tragedy, and volunteers are preparing how to bury them in a mass grave that we are preparing in a compound of the Catholic church,” Duranthabo said.
Video footage from the scene shared online appeared to show burning structures and bodies on the floor of the church. Those who were able to identify some of the victims wailed while others stood in shock.
At least five other people were killed in an earlier attack on the nearby village of Machongani.
“They took several people into the bush; we do not know their destination or their number,” Lossa Dhekana, a civil society leader in Ituri, told the AP.
Both attacks are believed to have been carried out by members of the Allied Democratic Force (ADF) armed with guns and machetes.
Lt. Jules Ngongo, a spokesperson for the Congolese army in Ituri, confirmed at least 10 fatalities in the Komanda church attack. However, U.N.-backed Radio Okapi reported 43 deaths, citing security sources. The attackers reportedly came from a stronghold about 12 kilometers (7 miles) from Komanda and fled before security forces arrived.
Duranthabo condemned the violence in what he said was “a town where all the security officials are present.” He called for immediate military intervention, warning that “the enemy is still near our town.”
Eastern Congo has suffered deadly attacks in recent years by armed groups, including the ADF and Rwanda-backed rebels. The ADF, which has ties to the Islamic State, operates in the borderland between Uganda and Congo and often targets civilians. The group killed dozens of people in Ituri earlier this month in what a United Nations spokesperson described as a bloodbath.
The ADF was formed by disparate small groups in Uganda in the late 1990s following alleged discontent with President Yoweri Museveni.
In 2002, following military assaults by Ugandan forces, the group moved its activities to neighboring Congo and has since been responsible for the killings of thousands of civilians. In 2019, it pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.
The Congolese army (FARDC) has long struggled to contain the group, especially amid renewed conflict involving the M23 rebel movement backed by neighboring Rwanda.
Adetayo reported from Lagos, Nigeria and Saleh Mwanamilongo contributed to this report.
People gather around the charred remains of a burned vehicle following a deadly attack in Komanda, Ituri province of eastern Congo, Sunday, July 27, 2025. (Olivier Okande/UGC via AP)
MIAMI (AP) — Anfernee Simons scored 18 of his season-high 39 points in the fourth quarter, Jaylen Brown added 27 and the Boston Celtics trailed most of the way before rallying to beat the Miami Heat 119-114 on Thursday night.
Sam Hauser added 17 points for the Celtics, who outscored Miami 36-21 in the fourth quarter and won after facing as much as a 19-point deficit. It was their second-biggest comeback win of the season, after coming from 20 down to beat Indiana on Dec. 22.
Simons had the second highest-scoring game for a reserve this season — Utah's Brice Sensabaugh had 43 on Wednesday night in a loss to Chicago — and became the fourth Celtics player in the last 50 years to score at least 39 off the bench. The others: Larry Bird, Todd Day and Payton Pritchard.
Norman Powell scored 26 points for Miami, which got 22 points apiece from Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro. Andrew Wiggins added 16 for the Heat.
Simons had 11 consecutive Boston points in the fourth quarter to chip away at what was left of the Miami edge, and then Hauser got an open 3-pointer with 5:21 left to give the Celtics their first lead since the opening minute of the game.
The lead changed hands twice more, before Brown's 3-pointer with 4:05 remaining put Boston on top for good.
Miami started the game on a 28-9 run, putting the Celtics in a most unusual early position.
That 19-point margin — only about seven minutes into the game — matched the biggest first-quarter deficit the Celtics faced in a 304-game span since trailing Indiana by 20 early on in a game on Dec. 21, 2022. Boston also trailed Milwaukee by 19 in the first quarter on April 9, 2024.
The Heat played without starting point guard Davion Mitchell (left shoulder contusion) and sixth man Jaime Jaquez Jr. (left knee soreness).
Celtics: At Atlanta on Saturday night.
Heat: Host Oklahoma City on Saturday night.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Boston Celtics guard Anfernee Simons, center, is defended by Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Boston Celtics guard Anfernee Simons (4) comes under pressure from Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Boston Celtics guard Anfernee Simons (4) goes for the basket defended by Miami Heat center Kel'el Ware, obscured, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Miami Heat guard Norman Powell (24) reacts after making a shot during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra watches from courtside during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
