Trader hurt in explosion in ARMM complex

COTABATO CITY — A powerful homemade bomb exploded in the compound housing offices of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao here last Friday night, wounding a barter trader, police said.

The blast came two days before Latin American ambassadors were scheduled to visit this city for a dialogue with ARMM officials.

City police chief Ajijul Taradji said the bomb was apparently planted in a jeep that entered the ARMM compound.

The explosion destroyed the jeep and wounded trader Badawi Samaon, who sustained shrapnel wounds but was believed to be in a stable condition, Ajijul said.

The explosion was the second to rock the city this week. Last Wednesday, an unidentified man tossed a grenade into a residential district, killing an eight-year-old child and wounding three others (Related story on A-30).

Police said no motive for either attack had been established and no group had claimed responsibility.

Heavily armed policemen have been deployed around the ARMM compound for today’s visit of the Latin American ambassadors. — AFP, John Unson