2 hurt in Kudarat market blast
COTABATO CITY, Philippines – A homemade bomb blamed on Muslim rebels wounded two people in a market in Sultan Kudarat Tuesday night, the third bombing this week in the volatile region, the military said.
Lt. Col. Jonathan Ponce, spokesman of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said the bomb was fashioned from a mortar shell and left inside a backpack near the market in Lebak town.
He said Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels was responsible, but MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu denied the group’s involvement.
On Monday, a bomb exploded in the rear of a commuter bus as it traveled through Kabacan, North Cotabato, wounding at least four passengers, the military said.
Earlier on the same day, two homemade bombs exploded a minute apart at the Agus Bridge in Iligan City, making the 100-meter bridge impassable. Nearby houses and a warehouse were also damaged but no one was hurt.
Maj. Randolph Cabangbang, a regional military spokesman, said authorities suspected the Al-Khobar extortion gang led by former MILF members was behind the bus bombing.
MILF rebels were also suspected in the bridge bombing, which was denied by Kabalu.
The series of bombings has prompted stepped-up security in the region. “We have strengthened our coordination with police with regards to these security measures,” said Maj. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, Armed Forces Eastern Mindanao Command chief.
Malaysian-brokered peace talks between the government and the 11,600-strong MILF collapsed last August after the Supreme Court blocked the signing of a preliminary accord that would have expanded a Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao. – John Unson and Edith Regalado
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