At least 16 people were killed by a suspected Islamist rebel group in North Kivu province in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to a local official on Wednesday. The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), allied with the Islamic State, are believed to be responsible for the attack.

The victims were hacked to death with machetes in their homes or fields. Some were executed while trying to escape, said a local official Fabien Kakule Viriro.

The ADF, which began as a Ugandan insurgency, has been operating from the jungles of eastern Congo for nearly three decades. Viriro said, We believe that the ADF are the perpetrators of this attack, they took advantage of the departure of the military in the area to come and kill the population. (ARISENEWS TV)