2 cops hurt in Negros blast

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — Two police officers were wounded when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off in Binalbagan, Negros Occidental yesterday.

Lt. Charles Richard Casalan, deputy chief of the Binalbagan police, and Cpl. Julius Tranquillero were taken to a nearby clinic for treatment of injuries. 

Casalan and Tranquillero were part of a team of officers out to respond to a report about the discovery of a body in Sitio Nursery in Barangay Bi-ao.

The IED went off as the team was traveling in Sitio Candida 2, according to Lt. Col. Arnel Solis, spokesman for the Western Visayas police.

Responding police officers recovered five plastic containers filled with gasoline and bomb paraphernalia at the scene.

Probers have yet to determine the motive for the attack.