Army foils bombing attempt in Pikit

NORTH COTABATO, Philippines  --- Army bomb experts defused Tuesday night a bomb found inside a crowded videoke pub in Pikit town in the province.

The improvised explosive device was fashioned from a live 60 MM mortar projectile rigged with a battery-operated blasting device attached to a mobile phone.

Rene Labanon, owner of a small store nearby, said the three men that brought the IED inside the establishment even bought cigarettes from him before fleeing,  leaving a bag containing the IED inside the videoke pub.

Labanon immediately alerted authorities, enabling them to clear the area and deactivate the IED.

The incident was preceded by two roadside bombings in another barangay in the same town two weeks earlier.

No one was hurt in the two bombings, but the attack caused  panic among local folks.