Blast hurt 4, damage bridge in Mindanao

Philippine Daily Inquirer

First Posted 22:52:00 04/20/2009

Filed Under: Explosion, Security (general)

ILIGAN CITY, Philippines—A powerful blast ripped through a bus terminal in North Cotabato on Monday, wounding four people, Army spokesman Major Randolph Cabangbang told reporters.

Blaming the attack on a rogue faction of Moro guerrillas, Cabangbang said the explosion, believed to have been caused by a crude bomb, also shattered glass panels of nearby commercial establishments in the province.

“Nobody specializes in such terrorist operations other than the lawless Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) group,” Cabangbang said, adding it was the second bombing attack on Monday in Mindanao.

Two crude bombs also exploded at dawn near Iligan City, damaging a 100-meter (328-foot) bridge linking the Catholic-dominated urban center to Muslim-dominated towns on Lanao Del Norte.

No casualty was reported.

Colonel Benito de Leon, head of the Army’s 104th Infantry Brigade, said the bombs were planted on the right side of the bridge in Sitio (sub-village) Fuentes in Barangay (village) Ma. Cristina.

He said investigators were still determining the make and type of the bombs and the identities of the perpetrators.

The blasts damaged the railings of the bridge, prompting authorities to close it to vehicles, De Leon said.

Traffic had to be rerouted but the alternate bridge in Barangay Ditucalan, which was temporarily used, can only accommodate light vehicles, according to Mayor Lawrence Cruz.

Cruz urged residents to be vigilant in the wake of the fresh attacks, which, he said, occurred at the height of bomb threats in the city and the explosions that hit power distribution facilities of the National Transmission Corp. (Transco).

Last year, a city mall was bombed, killing at least three people and wounding more than 40 others. Authorities had blamed MILF rebels for the attacks, but the group denied involvement.

On Friday, the Bangsamoro Center for Just Peace in the Philippines urged the government and the MILF to resume peace negotiations, saying that other groups could still create scenarios that could worsen the conflict.

Reuters; Richel Umel and Edwin Fernandez,

Inquirer Mindanao