ON GUARD: US troops participating in joint military drill guard their hummer Saturday, 18 Feb 2006 inside a military base in Jolo. A bomb attack outside the base later in the day leaves 1 civilian dead and 25 others wounded, including 3 Filipino soldiers, police and military say. (Zamboanga Journal)JOLO ISLAND (Zamboanga Journal / 19 Feb) One civilian was killed and more than two dozen people were wounded in a bomb attack outside a Philippine military base in the southern island of Jolo, where US and Filipino troops are currently conducting joint antiterrorism drill, officials said.
The attack late Saturday targeted a karaoke bar just several meters away from the military base, where more than 100 US troops are encamped.
There were no reports of US casualties, said US military spokesman Lt. Col. Mark Zimmer. "All Americans are accounted for," he told the Zamboanga Journal.
US troops are restricted to the camp during the month long training, dubbed as Balikatan 2006.
One radio reporter in Jolo said she counted at least 20 wounded at the local hospital and many of them had burns and fractures on their body." The blast was so powerful that it destroyed one of the walls of the bar," she said in a separate interview.
Jolo army chief Brig. Gen. Nehemias Pajarito said one person was killed and that 22 others were wounded in the attack.
"One civilian was dead and at least 22 others are wounded in the powerful explosion. We are still awaiting more reports from the field, but the blast damaged the two-storey bar frequented by civilians outside the base. We have prohibited our soldiers from going to those places," he told the Zamboanga Journal.
But the police said at least 25 people were confirmed injured in the blast and that the lone casualty was Domingo de Leon, working as a driver for the US troops participating in the drill.
No group or individual has claimed responsibility for the attack, but it coincided with the start of the Balikatan 2006. Some 250 US and over 4,000 Filipino troops are participating in the drill.
Police and military suspect the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group could be responsible for the attack. Bars have sprouted outside the base and prostitutes moved to Jolo from Zamboanga City after learning that US troops arrived on the island, about 950 kms south of Manila.
Prostitution is prohibited in Islam and the Abu Sayyaf had previously threatened to attack the bars if its owners don't close down.
Earlier on Saturday, troops were seen guarding government buildings and military and police camps in downtown Jolo, but it was not immediately known how the bomber was able to sneaked near the base and planted the bomb on one of the dozens bars that littered outside.
The Abu Sayyaf also threatened to attack US targets and had previously killed two US hostages kidnapped in the Philippines and an American soldier participating in antiterrorism drill in Zamboanga City in 2002.
Early this month, suspected Abu Sayyaf terrorists fired two rounds of rifle grenade near a military post in Jolo's Mount Karawan and killed a police officer and beheaded a civilian last week in downtown area.
Washington listed the Abu Sayyaf as a foreign terrorist organization and offered as much as $5 million dollars bounty for the group's known leaders.
The attack late Saturday targeted a karaoke bar just several meters away from the military base, where more than 100 US troops are encamped.
There were no reports of US casualties, said US military spokesman Lt. Col. Mark Zimmer. "All Americans are accounted for," he told the Zamboanga Journal.
US troops are restricted to the camp during the month long training, dubbed as Balikatan 2006.
One radio reporter in Jolo said she counted at least 20 wounded at the local hospital and many of them had burns and fractures on their body." The blast was so powerful that it destroyed one of the walls of the bar," she said in a separate interview.
Jolo army chief Brig. Gen. Nehemias Pajarito said one person was killed and that 22 others were wounded in the attack.
"One civilian was dead and at least 22 others are wounded in the powerful explosion. We are still awaiting more reports from the field, but the blast damaged the two-storey bar frequented by civilians outside the base. We have prohibited our soldiers from going to those places," he told the Zamboanga Journal.
But the police said at least 25 people were confirmed injured in the blast and that the lone casualty was Domingo de Leon, working as a driver for the US troops participating in the drill.
No group or individual has claimed responsibility for the attack, but it coincided with the start of the Balikatan 2006. Some 250 US and over 4,000 Filipino troops are participating in the drill.
Police and military suspect the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group could be responsible for the attack. Bars have sprouted outside the base and prostitutes moved to Jolo from Zamboanga City after learning that US troops arrived on the island, about 950 kms south of Manila.
Prostitution is prohibited in Islam and the Abu Sayyaf had previously threatened to attack the bars if its owners don't close down.
Earlier on Saturday, troops were seen guarding government buildings and military and police camps in downtown Jolo, but it was not immediately known how the bomber was able to sneaked near the base and planted the bomb on one of the dozens bars that littered outside.
The Abu Sayyaf also threatened to attack US targets and had previously killed two US hostages kidnapped in the Philippines and an American soldier participating in antiterrorism drill in Zamboanga City in 2002.
Early this month, suspected Abu Sayyaf terrorists fired two rounds of rifle grenade near a military post in Jolo's Mount Karawan and killed a police officer and beheaded a civilian last week in downtown area.
Washington listed the Abu Sayyaf as a foreign terrorist organization and offered as much as $5 million dollars bounty for the group's known leaders.
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