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Debris inside a Catholic Church where two bombs exploded in Jolo, Sulu province on the southern island of Mindanao. Image Credit: AFP

Manila: Daesh has claimed responsibility for a double bomb attack on a Catholic church on a southern Philippine island that killed at least 18 people, according to the SITE Intelligence Group which monitors extremist activities.

Daesh issued a formal communique claiming two suicide bombers had detonated explosive belts Sunday inside the church and its car park on Jolo — a stronghold of extremists in the Catholic-majority nation.