Bomb blast hits N. Cotabato anew

PIKIT, North Cotabato, Philippines- Another bomb explosion rocked the town center here Wednesday night, causing panic among its residents.

Authorities still have no leads on the identities of the culprits, said Lt. Col. Audie Edralin, commanding officer of the Army’s 7th Infantry Battalion.

Edralin said responding members of the Army’s 34th Explosives and Ordnance Unit recovered fragments of a mobile phone and the blasting contraption used to detonate the bomb.

“Fortunately, no one was hurt in the explosion,” he said.

The bombing occurred less than 24 hours after policemen found a live 81-millimeter mortar projectile and an improvised blasting mechanism in an abandoned lot in nearby Midsayap town.