2 killed in Zamboanga del Sur IED blast

COTABATO CITY — Two individuals were reportedly killed in a powerful explosion that ripped through a beach resort in Barangay Lower Bayao in Tukuran, Zamboanga del Sur before dawn Tuesday, September 17.

In initial statements released at about noontime Tuesday, the Tukuran Municipal Police Station and the Zamboanga del Sur Provincial Police Office said the victims got killed after still unidentified bombers had set off a powerful improvised explosive device placed inside a utility box of a motorcycle parked near a store owned by the AJ Resort in a beachfront area in Barangay Lower Bayao.

Flash reports by radio stations here and in nearby cities early Tuesday stated that the duo who perished in the explosion died instantly from injuries caused by the blast.

Police and Army intelligence officials told reporters that there are indications that the home-made bomb was rigged with a blasting contraption detonated from a distance using a mobile phone.

The commander of the Philippine Army, Lt. Gen. Roy Galido, said he has ordered the officials of the 1st Infantry Division that has jurisdiction over Tukuran and all other towns in Zamboanga del Sur to help the police put a closure on the bombing.

The blast scene is only about five kilometers away from the Tukuran municipal police station, according to local officials whom radio reporters had interviewed live on air.