Bombing of bridge foiled

COTABATO CITY – Government troops defused a bomb planted under a bridge in Maguindanao yesterday, an official said.

The device, made from a mortar shell rigged to a mobile phone, was discovered under the bridge in the town of Shariff Aguak, Army spokesman Lt. Col. Julieto Ando said.

He said the device was similar to those used in previous bombings by Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels since August last year.

“We believe it is part of the rebels’ diversionary tactic because they suffered as many as 10 fatalities in our air strikes yesterday,” Ando said.

Last Tuesday, police also defused two grenades near an area where President Arroyo was distributing relief goods to flood victims in Iligan City.

Suspected MILF rebels also tossed a grenade into an Iglesia ni Cristo compound in Kabacan, North Cotabato yesterday, causing damage but no injuries, police said.

This occurred as suspected extortionists blasted a 40-mm grenade projectile in front of the 8th Avenue House, a small hotel also in Kabacan Tuesday night. – John Unson, Roel Pareño