2 soldiers wounded in Basilan IED blast

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Two soldiers were wounded when unidentified men detonated an improvised explosive device near an Army detachment in Lamitan, Basilan yesterday.

Cpl. Cyrus Bunda and Pvt. Arny Vember were manning a checkpoint of the 68th Infantry Battalion in Barangay Campo Uno when the bomb exploded, Brig. Gen. Domingo Gobway, Joint Task Force Basilan and 101st Infantry Brigade commander, said.

Gobway said the suspects took a rifle attached to an M203 grenade launcher of one of the soldiers.