1 killed, 9 wounded in Cotabato City blast

COTABATO CITY, Philippines -  – A powerful blast ripped through a commercial area here yesterday afternoon, killing a passerby and causing injuries to nine others, including a six-year-old girl.

Senior Superintendent Roberto Badian, city police chief, said investigators were now validating reports that two men left a bag supposedly containing the improvised explosive on a seat of a parked motorcycle and hurriedly left before the blast.

The bomb went off in front of the city’s biggest gun store, the Cotabato Weapons and Tactics, shattering the glass panes of the store and nearby establishments.

The lone fatality was identified as Jimmy Ali, a commercial photographer.

Badian said some of those wounded were passengers of vehicles passing by the blast site.

Cotabato City Vice Mayor Muslimin Sema, who was among the first to reach the scene, condemned the bombing, which marred the second day of the observance of Ramadan.