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Saturday, November 01, 2008
4 hurt in Sultan Kudarat blast
DAVAO CITY -- Four people, including two suspected bombers, were wounded after an improvised explosive device (IED) went off prematurely along the national highway in Esperanza, Sultan Kudarat, officials said Friday.
A report from the Eastern Mindanao Command showed that the explosion happened around 7 p.m. Thursday, a few seconds after a still unidentified person left the IED in front of Manalastas store along the national highway.
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The victims were identified as Dina Barona, 44, and her five-year-old adopted daughter Clarin Velasco, both residents of Barangay Saliao, Esperanza. Also wounded were Narrex Hadjali Guiadel, 32, and Singon Muhalidin, 26.
The victims were immediately rushed to a nearby hospital.
Military spokesman Major Randolph Cabangbang said the victims were wounded by shrapnel from the IED that was made from 81mm mortar shell. He added that Guiadel and Muhalidin are themselves the suspects.
Guiadel and Muhalidin were said to have boarded a motorcycle and were about to leave the crime scene when the IED exploded, hitting them. They are now closely guarded at Galapate Hospital in Poblacion, Esperanza.
Cabangbang also said the two suspected bombers were placed in police custody while the investigation continued.
Witnesses told police that the two were seen in the area minutes before the explosion.
The explosion came two days after three IEDs -- all fashioned from 81mm mortars -- were recovered and later defused by operatives of the Explosives and Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team in Kabacan, North Cotabato.
Army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Julieto Ando blamed the rebels for planting the bombs. The rebels, however, did not comment immediately but in the past have denied such accusations.
Meanwhile, residents in nearby Shariff Kabunsuan province were awakened early Friday by a series of powerful explosions. The military said that a fire, possibly caused by a defective cannon shell, triggered explosives in an ammunition dump inside an army camp, but there were no casualties. (BOT/With Malu C. Manar/AP/Sun.Star Davao/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Zamboanga. (November 1, 2008 issue)
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