Cleric slain, girl hurt in Central Mindanao attacks

COTABATO CITY, Philippines – A Muslim cleric was shot dead while a four-year-old girl was wounded in a grenade explosion in Central Mindanao on Wednesday.

Imam Abdulkadir Sumael, 40, of Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat, was walking in Purok Islam in this city when he was shot by an unidentified assailant.

Responding police officers recovered bullet shells for a .45 caliber pistol from the crime scene.

Earlier in the day, a girl was wounded when a hand grenade exploded in Kabacan town in North Cotabato.

The explosion occurred as the girl and her parents were passing by near an Army detachment.