Secretary of mayoral candidate injured in Maguindanao del Norte grenade attack

COTABATO CITY — A secretary of a mayoral candidate in Parang, Maguindanao del Norte, was injured in a grenade blast that tore through her residential yard before dawn on Friday, January 24.

Aira Abedin, secretary to Parang Vice Mayor Adnan Biruar, who is running for mayor, sustained shrapnel wounds to various parts of her body.

Officials from the Maguindanao del Norte Provincial Police Office and the Parang Municipal Police Station told reporters on Friday morning that an unidentified bomber threw a grenade from outside Abedin’s home in Barangay Nituan before fleeing the scene as it exploded.

The grenade landed near Abedin’s bedroom and exploded, injuring her and damaging a nearby parked car.

Brig. Gen. Romeo Juan Macapaz, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, said he has instructed the Parang police to seek the assistance of Nituan barangay officials to resolve the incident, which caused panic among nearby residents.