SULTAN KUDARAT, Philippines — One person was killed while at least 15 others were wounded when an improvised explosive device went off near a department store in Isulan last night.
The bombing occurred at past 7 p.m., about five hours after President Duterte left for an official visit to Israel yesterday afternoon.
Investigators were still trying to establish if the attack was related to the explosion last Tuesday night in Barangay Kalawagin in this capital town of Sultan Kudarat, home to mixed Muslim, Christian and Lumad residents.
Police and military authorities blamed the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in last week’s bombing incident.
The BIFF, operating in the fashion of the Islamic State, has been trying to sabotage the peace process between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, authorities said.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the government are bound by two peace compacts – the 2013 Framework Agreement on Bangsamoro and a similar one in 2014.
Both agreements oblige both sides to cooperate in maintaining law and order in Mindanao. – With Edith Regalado