Grenade explodes near Army headquarters in Cotabato

COTABATO CITY, Philippines - A grenade blast on Wednesday night ripped through the periphery of an Army battalion headquarters in a busy spot here, the fourth in just two weeks.

No one was reported hurt in the explosion, but the incident triggered panic in the surroundings of the headquarters of the Philippine Army’s 6th Civil-Military Operations Battalion at one side of the Pedro Colina Hill in the heart of the city.

Senior Superintendent Raul Supiter, director of the Cotabato City police, said probers are still sifting through the blast scene to determine the kind of explosive used in the attack and establish the identities of the culprits.

Cotabato City was rocked thrice by recent grenade blasts, which injured three, two of them members of the Army’s 5th Special Forces Battalion.

Supiter said the city police will deploy more policemen in strategic spots in the city to prevent a repeat of the bombings.