Aljazeera, July 27 -- At least 38 people have been killed and 15 others injured in an attack on a church in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The attack, carried out by suspected members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) wielding guns and machetes, took place at the church in Ituri province's Komanda city early on Sunday.

The ADF, with ties to ISIL (ISIS), is a rebel group that operates in the borderland between Uganda and the DRC, and has routinely conducted attacks against civilian populations.

Several houses and shops were also burned down, and many people remain missing after the attack, which happened while Catholic Christians were attending a prayer vigil at the church, run by the Caritas charity.

"The rebe...