Grenade blast rocks house of ex-Sultan Kudarat gov’s wife in Koronadal City; one hurt

From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 28): Grenade blast rocks house of ex-Sultan Kudarat gov’s wife in Koronadal City; one hurt

A relative of a wife of former Sultan Kudarat Gov. Pax Mangudadatu was wounded in a grenade attack at their house in nearby Koronadal City on Sunday night.

Supt. Nestor Salcedo, Koronadal City police chief, said Monday the grenade exploded at around 7 p.m. in a residential compound owned by Mangudadatu’s wife Nora at Phase 1 of the Villa Agreda Subdivision in Barangay Sto. Nino.

He said the explosion ripped through the garage area, hitting Nora’s nephew Moktar Lipusan Ismael, 25, and damaging a parked vehicle.

“According to witnesses, the grenade was thrown by motorcycle-riding men,” he told reporters.

Nora said in a radio interview she was standing by a window at their sala when she noticed a motorcycle with two men onboard suddenly slowing down while passing by their house.

She said one of them hurled something at their garage that eventually exploded.

Ismael, who also serves as the house’s caretaker, was hit on his right leg and is now recuperating at a private hospital in Koronadal City, she said.

Investigators from the Koronadal City police station recovered from the scene a safety lever of PRB 423 Belgian anti-personnel fragmentation hand grenade.

Salcedo refused to speculate on the identity of the suspects and possible motive of the incident but said they are already looking into several angles.

But Nora believed the incident could be linked to a recent conflict in Lutayan town in Sultan Kudarat that involved his son Naga.

She was referring to the clashes in Barangay Bayasong in Lutayan earlier this month between members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s (MILF) 10th base command and the barangay police action team (BPAT) led by barangay chair Falcon Bansil.

Bansil, who is a known ally of Naga Mangudadatu, and several BPAT members were wounded in the fighting.

The conflict eventually settled down through the intervention of military personnel and members of the International Monitoring Team.

At the height of the conflict, Nora said they noticed unidentified motorcycle-riding men suspiciously watching their house.

She said one of them was even chased at one point by local barangay tanods.

Nora added that prior to the Sunday attack, they received information about some threats allegedly coming from two MILF commanders based in Lutayan town.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=808770