4 Marines hurt in Sulu roadside explosion

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – At least four Marines were wounded in a roadside bombing believed pulled off by the Abu Sayyaf in a village in Sulu last Friday, police said.

The Marines were onboard an M35 truck on their way to their camp when the vehicle struck a suspected improvised explosive in Barangay Bulabog, Maimbung town.

Brig. Gen. Romeo Tanalgo, chief of the Sulu Island Command, however, described the incident as a mere vehicular accident which is now being investigated.

Chief Superintendent Bienvenido Latag, police chief of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said they were confirming if an improvised explosive or other explosive devices caused the blast.

Marines who survived the blast took their positions as an attack could be underway. But not a single shot was fired at them.

The four wounded Marines were rushed to the trauma hospital at Camp Bautista in Bus-bus, Jolo, capital town of Sulu.