ISIS-aligned rebels kill 66 civilians in eastern Congo

KINSHASA, Congo — Rebels affiliated with the Islamic State group killed 66 people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, local officials say.

Fighters with the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which has ties to ISIS, killed civilians in the area of Irumu in the east of the country bordering Uganda.

The attack comes as eastern Congo may see an end to its ongoing war with M23, a separate rebel group which is backed by Rwanda, another of Congo’s neighbors.

The ADF is a Ugandan Islamist group that operates on both sides of the porous border.

All the victims, including women, were killed with machetes, says the president of a local civil society, Marcel Paluku. The number of people taken hostage is unknown.

The attack is suspected to be in response to an escalating bombing campaign by joint Congolese and Ugandan forces that started on Sunday.

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