1 killed, 20 hurt in Sulu blast

ZAMBOANGA CITY – A civilian was killed and 20 other people were wounded, one of them a four-year-old boy, when a bomb exploded last Saturday in a bar in Jolo, Sulu near an Army camp where American troops are staying.

Believed to be the Abu Sayyaf’s work, the explosion ripped through the V-Mar karaoke bar, 50 meters away from Army headquarters at Camp Brig. Gen. Teodulo Bautista, a day after the Balikatan 2006 joint exercises between Filipino and US troops were formally opened in Jolo.

Brig. Gen. Alexander Aleo, anti-terror Task Force Comet commander, said the lone fatality was Domingo de Leon, a Filipino who worked as a driver for US troops.

"The explosion last night was caused by a bomb made of ammonium nitrate," he said.

Aleo identified the wounded boy as Emar Canisares.

The wounded were taken to the nearby Sulu Provincial Hospital in Barangay Asturias, he added.

Lt. Col. Mark Zimmer, spokesman for the US contingent in Jolo, said no American soldier was killed or wounded in the blast.

Zimmer said the bombing would not affect the military exercises.

"We have no plans to change our exercise plans in Jolo," he said.

Aleo said rescue units combed through the debris on the explosion site and recovered many of those wounded.

"The bomb looked like an improvised explosive devise planted at the two story karaoke house," he said.

Aleo said investigators are considering two angles that include the Abu Sayyaf and warring groups.

"But there is no other group who is doing this kind of inhuman business except the Abu Sayyaf," he said. "They have this group called the Urban Terrorist Group."

Aleo said the UTGs are Abu Sayyaf members trained in demolition and assassination missions.

The attack might have been aimed at embarrassing the military, he added.

Aleo said since last December, the Abu Sayyaf has been planning terrorist attacks to oppose the Balikatan war games.

There was no immediate word both from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and US forces as to the decision on holding the Balikatan in Sulu which formally opened Saturday.

Another angle was related to a mauling incident that led to the death of one of the protagonists involving a local political leader, he added.

In Manila, about two dozen left-wing activists staged a peaceful protest on yesterday outside the US Embassy in Manila, demanding the withdrawal of American troops from Jolo.

The protesters, who included Muslim activists, also demanded the scrapping of the Visiting Forces Agreement, a bilateral pact that allows American forces to conduct joint military exercises in the country.

The treaty violates Philippine sovereignty, the protesters added.

Party-list Rep. Joel Virador, who led the protest, said the Americans should pull out because their presence would lead to confrontations with local militants.

More than 4,000 American troops will start the annual Balikatan military exercises today in areas including Jolo.

Last week military sources warned that Muslim militants with links to al-Qaeda could be planning attacks on the Americans. — Roel Pareño, Cecille Suerte Felipe, AP, AFP