4 dead, 33 wounded in Kudarat bombing

GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Four people were killed and 33 others were wounded when a powerful improvised bomb tore through a crowded commercial complex near the local office of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat yesterday.

No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing.

The explosion occurred at around 4:45 pm as ranking police, military and local Comelec officials were discussing security preparations for the coming elections in a restaurant nearby.

The number of the wounded was sketchy as of press time. Maj. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, commander of the Army’s 5th Division, said his men reported only 27 wounded.

He said the blast bore the  "JI signature’’ and that it was meant to inflict heavy casualties. JI stands for Jemaah Islamiyah, the Indonesia-based terror group that has been blamed for most of the terror activities in Southeast Asia, including the 2002 Bali bombing that left 202 people, mostly western tourists, dead.

Col. Danilo Garcia, commander of the Army’s 601st Brigade whose jurisdiction covers Tacurong City, said the explosive device was left near the door of a billiard hall that was adjacent to a public market.

Senior Superintendent Suharto Tucao, director of the Sultan Kudarat police, said investigators are still trying to determine the type of explosive device used. Investigators believe it was chemical-based with a time-delayed blasting mechanism.

"Different terrorist groups use different types of bombs. Our investigators are still doing their best to determine the exact motive for the bombing," Tucao said.

There have been several bombings in Tacurong City since January, mostly blamed on extortionists and on rogue members of Moro rebel groups.

Chief Inspector Jomar Alexis Yap, spokesman for the Central Mindanao Regional Police office, said the blast occurred during the afternoon rush hour on Bonifacio street near the crowded public market.

"Initially, the reports I received showed that three civilians were instantly killed in the explosion," Yap told The STAR in a telephone interview.

"We don’t have any suspect yet as our witnesses are still being treated in the hospitals," Yap added.

Security forces scrambled to set up checkpoints around Tacurong immediately after the explosion.

The wounded were taken to Tamondong, Quijano and Sandig hospitals in the city, Yap said.

Inspector Benjamin delos Santos, deputy chief of Tacurong City Police, identified three of the four fatalities as Baziliza Landig, Kadsa Langalin and Ronald Reyes. The fourth fatality was still unidentified as of press time.

"Many were wounded because there are so many people who are watching billiard games in the area," Delos Santos said.

He said there were also many people in the area because there was a tricycle terminal nearby.

Delos Santos pointed out that yesterday’s bomb attack might be linked to the aborted bombing last April 29 near a police outpost in the city.

Last Friday, a bomb was found and defused in the nearby Banga town in South Cotabato.

The bomb, fashioned from a live rocket propelled grenade shell with a nine-volt battery operated mechanical clock and blasting cap, was left by two unidentified men inside a fruit stand along the national highway in Banga town.

"The culprits left the bomb in the fruit stand when they found out there was a check point down the road,’’ South Cotabato police director Senior Supt. Robert Kiunsala said.

"The bombs recovered are similar to the bomb which exploded yesterday," Delos Santos said.

He said there were no signs that the incident was election-related although Sultan Kudarat Gov. Pax Mangudadatu ordered security intensified as different political groups prepare for their miting de avance.

Jimmy Laguna, managing editor of the MIDLAND Review, spoke of increased police presence in the city after the explosion.

He said many businesses there preferred to close early following the blast.

Benjie Caballero, reporter of Catholic-run DxMD based in Tacurong City, said that based on "actual field accounts,’’ the blast killed four people on the spot and injured 29 others.

Earlier, the United States, Australia and Canada respectively issued separate travel advisories warning their citizens of the risks of traveling to Mindanao, citing credible reports of terror plots in the region. - With Ramil, Bajo, Jaime Laude, Roel Pareño, John Unson