Grenade explosion rocks Jolo cathedral

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – A grenade exploded outside the Mt. Carmel Cathedral in downtown Jolo in Sulu shortly before noon yesterday, but no one was injured, the military said.

Maj. Ramon David Hontiveros, spokesman of the Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), said the blast, which occurred at around 11:35 a.m., sowed tension among residents and businessmen in the area.

Hontiveros said the M72 grenade was fired somewhere nearby but fell short and instead hit the fence at the back of the Mt. Carmel Cathedral compound, where there is a Marine detachment.

He said the attack was suspected to be the handiwork of the Abu Sayyaf.

He said the explosive ordnance and disposal unit has conducted a post-blast investigation “to determine the signature of the bomb and to trace the group responsible for the attack.”

It was the fourth attack on the cathedral in recent years.

Brig. Gen. Rustico Guerrero, chief of Task Force Comet, said they suspected that the target of the attack was the Marine unit at the back of the cathedral’s compound.

Guerrero said Abu Sayyaf militants are believed to be behind the grenade blast, as they have been staging attacks on military and government installations and bridges in the past weeks.

He said security has been beefed up in Jolo, the capitol town, while intelligence operations have been intensified to track down militants who might have infiltrated the community. – With James Mananghaya and Edith Re­galado