1 wounded in Mindanao blasts

From the Business Mirror (Nov 30): 1 wounded in Mindanao blasts

ONE person was wounded after two explosions rocked Central Mindanao over the weekend as authorities grappled with the continuing series of attacks that were allegedly being carried out by the breakaway Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

Capt. Jo-Ann Petinglay, public affairs officer of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said both the Philippine National Police and the military were still investigating the blasts, which came in eight hours of succession on Saturday.

The first explosion, which bomb experts said was made of a homemade bomb, occurred at Sitio Bagong, Barangay Timbangan, Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao, at around 8:10 in the morning.

While no casualty was reported from the blast, it created fear from residents of the area. Petinglay said the blast was initially tagged by bomb experts as the handiwork of the BIFF based on the way it was rigged and its components as shown by the debris that were recovered.

The public affairs officer said the bandit group, which broke away from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, is known for its expertise in rigging bombs that were made of mortars and howitzer rounds.

The blast in Maguindanao was followed eight hours later by another explosion in Cotabato City, wherein a hand grenade was used.

According to Petinglay, a suspect hurled the fragmentation grenade into a passing dump truck that was traveling along Sinsuat Avenue, wounding Raismia Angas Baraguir, 22.

She said the green truck, with plate number KCZ-378, was coming from Rosales Street, also in the city, when the perpetrator lobbed the grenade, triggering a loud explosion and sending pedestrians into panic.

While still working on the suspect’s identity, investigators recovered from the scene a safety lever and fragments of grenade.

Earlier, Armed Forces Chief  of   Staff Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang ordered military commanders in Central Mindanao to end the atrocities committed by lawless groups in the region, particularly the BIFF that he dubbed “spoilers of peace.”

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/1-wounded-in-mindanao-blasts/