DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Xinhua) - An improvised bomb exploded in southern Philippines early today, wounding two government troops, police said.
The makeshift bomb believed planted by leftist New People's Army guerrillas went off as an army vehicle passed by a road in San Jose village, in Monkayo town, in Mindanao's Compostela Valley province at around 5:30 a.m., according to Alexander Serrano, the town police chief.
"Two soldiers were wounded after an improvised explosive device (IED) planted at the roadside went off,"Serrano told Xinhua by phone, adding the victims were immediately brought to a local hospital for treatment.
The military has accused the 4,000-strong leftist guerrilla group of orchestrating bombings using internationally-banned landmines that killed hundreds of security forces and civilians in southern Philippines in recent years.