Grenade blast rocks another North Cotabato town

COTABATO CITY - A grenade blast rocked the hinterland Arakan town in North Cotabato Wednesday night, the second explosion in Central Mindanao in just two days.

Superintendent Rolly Oranza, chief of the Arakan municipal police, said a still unidentified man hurled a fragmentation grenade into the house of Susan Seminilla through an open window and escaped as it went off.

Oranza said no one was hurt in the explosion, but the bombing triggered panic in the neighborhood.

Oranza said investigators are trying to establish the identity of the bomber and the real motive for the attack. Seminilla is a regular villager.

The town proper of Arakan is surrounded by hinterlands where there are lairs of the New People’s Army, known for intimidating villagers to force them into shelling “protection money” on a regular basis.

Seven bystanders were injured in a grenade attack at a plaza in General Santos City Tuesday night.

Police probers were not sure which group is responsible for the attack.

The military was quick to point to “peace spoilers” who are against the on-going peace efforts of the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front as possibly responsible for the atrocity.

Maj. Gen. Eduardo Año, chief of the Army’s 10th Infantry Division, which has jurisdiction over General Santos City and surrounding towns, said the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), which opposes the peace talks, could be making its presence felt in the area.

“But it should be treated as an isolated incident because for a long time nothing has happened there,” he added.