4 soldiers wounded in twin bombings (5:15 p.m.)

ZAMBOANGA CITY - Four soldiers were wounded in twin bomb explosions while on a security mission in Davao City, a military official said Friday.

Major General Carlos Holganza, commander of the Army's 10th Infantry Division, said the incident, perpetrated by the New People's Army (NPA), took place around 7:45 a.m. Friday in Paquibato District, Davao City.

Holganza identified the wounded soldiers as Private First Class (PFC) Severo Garcia, PFC Elmer Larroya, PFC Noel Amoroso, and Private Ramel Laranio, all assigned with the Army's 69th Infantry Battalion.

Holganza said the troops were on the way to check the reported sightings of heavily armed men, believed to be NPAs, when the vehicle they were riding tripped on two bombs and exploded.

Holganza deplored the incident what he called as "barbaric and terroristic nature of the NPA as an organization by using improvised bombs."

"These terrorists have repeatedly ignored and violated every known tenets of International Humanitarian Law and utterly disregarded the safety of civilians who might be hurt by planting improvised bombs on road nets just like the previous incidents," he said.

In 2009, a total of 11 individuals were killed and 30 others were wounded in improvised bomb explosions perpetrated by the NPAs in the Davao Region or southern Mindanao region.

Troops were deployed to track down the perpetrators of the twin bombings, Holganza said. (Bong Garcia)