IED blast rocks police station in ComVal

From ABS-CBN (Jul 19): IED blast rocks police station in ComVal

An improvised explosive device (IED) was lobbed by a suspected member of the New People's Army (NPA) near the Mabini Police Station in Compostela Valley Saturday night, a military official said.

Capt. Alberto Caber, public affairs officer of the military's Eastern Mindanao Command (EastMinCom), said the perpetrator triggered the bomb past 8 p.m.

A 21-year-old woman, Ravelyn Ababa Cobrado, was injured in the blast.

"Nadamay lang 'yun, 'yung PNP ang target," Caber said, referring to the seriously wounded Cobrado who was taken to Davao Regional Hospital.

Caber added that the explosion may have been part of a planned attack, which the rebels aborted after a civilian was wounded. He said the rebels usually detonate a bomb before an attack.

"It could also be a mere harassment on the PNP," Caber said.

The official noted that the Mabini Police Station is conducting a probe on the NPA killing of an Army Scout Ranger soldier last July 16.

Civilians near the blast site reported that the perpetrator hurriedly left the area aboard a motorcycle after the explosion. Caber said soldiers and policemen are going after the suspect.

EastMinCom commander Lt. Gen. Aurelio Baladad condemned the attack.

"The CPP-NPA-NDF (Communist Party of the Philippines/New People's Army/National Democratic Front) is really not sincere about peace in the region," he said,

"There are so many innocent lives that were lost, people injured and properties damaged due to their indiscriminate use of IEDs. This security concern is not only of the security forces but of everbody's," Baladad added.

A number of civilians have been killed and wounded by bombs planted by the rebels in the past - the latest was last April 20 in Makilala town in North Cotabato that wounded two civilians.

Last April 1, a civilian was killed and seven others were wounded when the rebels also detonated an improvised bomb in San Miguel town in Surigao del Sur.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/07/19/15/ied-blast-rocks-police-station-comval