1 killed, 9 wounded in Zambo blast

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - A woman was killed while 10 others were injured when an improvised bomb exploded inside a recreation karaoke and massage bar Thursday night in the city’s downtown, according to security officials.

The police identified the lone fatality as Geraldine Miguel, 21, a cashier at Manly Massage and Videoke Bar in front of West Central School along San Jose Road.

Police Senior Superintendent Angelito Casimiro, the City Police Office director said the bomb exploded about 10 p.m. inside the massage bar.

The injured victims, mostly female attendants, were identified as Marina Anamog, Elizabeth Alarcon, Stephanie Marpel, Cheska Mendoza, Teresita delos Santos, Karen Alvarez, Nora Amancion, Nilo Gonzales, Alfredo Erojo and Nestor Alaban.

Casimiro said the injured victims sustained injuries due to the impact of the explosion and were rushed to the state-run Zamboanga City Medical Center (ZCMC).

He said Miguel died on the spot from severe injuries.

The explosion was powerful enough to rip down the ceiling of the two-storey massage parlor, damaging the adjacent stall.

Police Superintendent Felix Martinez, chief of police of the Criminal Investigation Detection Management (CIDM), said witnesses disclosed that a male patron reportedly left a bag in the first table of the bar and minutes later the explosion occurred.

Martinez said no suspect was arrested but investigation continues to unmask the bomber and the motive of the attack.

He said the latest bomb explosion was just two blocks away from where the twin explosion occurred last year also inside a massage parlor and videoke bar, few meters away from the City Reformatory Center where high profile Abu Sayyaf members are detained.

Martinez said they were looking at the angle if the attack was related with the previous bombing.

Police Explosive Ordnance and Disposal (EOD) unit recovered some of the bomb debris as evidence and were reconstructing it to determine the type of improvised explosive device.

The explosion created an 8 by 6-inch crater on the concrete floor, which ripped through a concrete wall and damaged another massage bar beside it.

Casimiro could not say if the bombing was the handiwork of the local terror group Abu Sayyaf, pursued by the military in the island provinces of Basilan and Sulu.

However, he said the city remained to be in constant threat since a number of the captured Abu Sayyaf personalities are detained in the local prison facility near the downtown area.