At least 31 people have been killed and several others injured following a brutal overnight assault on a church in Komanda town, northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, in an attack blamed on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an affiliate of the Islamic State group.

Local officials say the victims were part of a Christian congregation attending a night vigil when armed militants stormed the church.

Many were shot dead inside and outside the building, while nearby homes and businesses were looted and set ablaze.

Dieudonné Duranthabo, a civil society coordinator in the area, confirmed that search operations are still underway, warning that the death toll could rise. "More than 21 people were shot dead inside and outside [the church], we have recorded at least three charred bodies, and several houses burned. But the search is continuing," he told the Associated Press.

Father Aimé Lokana Dhego, a local priest, reported that 31 members of the Eucharistic Crusade movement had been confirmed dead, with six others seriously injured. He also revealed that several young worshippers were abducted during the attack and remain unaccounted for. "We have no news of them," he said grimly.

Other bodies were found scattered around the town, bringing the total death count closer to 43, according to the UN-backed Radio Okapi. However, the Congolese army has so far only confirmed 10 fatalities, underscoring the challenges of gathering accurate information in conflict-hit areas.

The ADF, originally a Ugandan rebel group formed in the 1990s, has entrenched itself in eastern DR Congo over the past two decades, carrying out frequent attacks against civilians irrespective of religion. It was later incorporated into the Islamic State’s Central African Province (ISCAP), which also includes extremist factions operating in Mozambique.

According to BBC Monitoring, nearly 90% of the Islamic State’s current global operations are now executed by its African affiliates, a shift that has raised alarm among regional security observers.

Despite ongoing joint military operations involving Ugandan and Congolese forces launched in 2021 to root out the ADF the group's capacity to launch coordinated, deadly attacks remains intact. The latest violence adds to the persistent insecurity in Ituri province, a mineral-rich region long plagued by armed groups and ethnic conflict.

As search and recovery efforts continue in Komanda, residents are calling for increased protection and a more effective response from security forces to end the cycle of violence.