At least 43 people, including children, were killed July 27 in a brutal overnight attack on a Catholic church in Komanda in eastern Congo.

Islamic-backed rebels reportedly killed at least 43 people in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, including raiding a Catholic church early Sunday.

Rebels killed at least 43 worshippers during a night mass in a Catholic church in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, local officials confirm.

The pontiff expressed sympathy and regret over the murders and wished for peace in the region after the tragic attack left over 40 people dead.

USCIRF Chair Vick Hartzler called the attack "particularly disturbing as it targeted a place of worship during an evening service."

Families in the Democratic Republic of Congo have held funerals for 38 people killed in an attack by an ISIL-linked rebel group.

Gunshots thundered and attackers burst into the church hall, picked out victims, tied them up and shot them dead, survivors of the massacre in northeastern Democratic Republic