Four people have been killed in an explosion at a Catholic Mass in the southern Philippines on Sunday morning.

The incident which occurred at the gymnasium of Mindanao State University in Marawi, the country’s largest Muslim city, had 42 others suffering mostly minor wounds.

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In 2017, Marawi was the scene of a five-month battle between government forces and militants with links to the Islamic State group.

The police commander in the region, Brig Gen Allan Nobleza who stated that the situation is under control, said that the Daulah Islamiyah-Maute Group could be behind bombing.

Nobleza said 11 of its members died in an encounter with the Philippine Army last Friday in neighbouring Datu Hoffer Ampatuan town adding that the explosion could be a form of retaliation.

Speaking on the incident, the President of the country, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., condemned the blast as a senseless and most heinous act, adding that it was perpetrated by foreign terrorists.

He appealed to the public to remain calm, adding that the government would bring the perpetrators of the ruthless act to justice.

Preliminary investigation, according to officials, said a grenade or an improvised bomb was likely to have caused the explosion.