COTABATO CITY, Philippines – Seven people were injured when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off at a busy street in Kidapawan City, capital of North Cotabato, last night.
Superintendent Chino Mamburam, city police chief, said the blast occurred at about 6:25 p.m. along Daang Maharlika, near the stairs of the pedestrian overpass downtown.
Most of the wounded were commuters and passersby, Mamburam said.
Col. Jonathan Ponce, 6th Infantry Division spokesperson, said initial investigation pointed to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) whose rogue members have been extorting money and food in major urban centers in Central Mindanao.
It was the second explosion in the region yesterday.
At dawn, two men riding in tandem on a motorbike, tossed a hand grenade at Husky Bus terminal in Cotabato City. No one was hurt, but two buses were destroyed, police said.
Mamburam refused to say who was behind the attack, explaining that police were still investigating the incident.
The blast scene was a stone’s throw away from a police outpost and about 500 meters away from an area where a military patrol car had been parked as part of local security.– John Unson