ZAMBOANGA CITY (Zamboanga Journal / 22 May) At least four people were wounded in a grenade attack Monday in Cotabato City in the southern Philippines, police said.
Police said a man tossed the grenade inside the compound of the Philippine Ports Authority in downtown Cotabato and wounding four people. "The motive of the attack was unknown, but investigation is ongoing," said police officer Presty Cabhubatan. "The assailant fled on motorcycle after the attack."
Cotabato City police station commander Abdulwahid Tukasan ordered a tightened security in the area and mounted operations to track down the attacker, the police officer said. "The suspect broke the glass window of the office and threw the grenade inside the compound where it exploded."
Cabhubatan said the wounded were rushed to hospital. "They were wounded alright, but not seriously and they are being treated for their wounds," the officer said.
Cotabato City has been previously attacked and police and military authorities blamed Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya terrorists and rebels for the spate of bombings that left dozens of people dead over the past years.
Aside from terrorists and rebels, extortion syndicates also operate in Cotabato City, once tagged by the United States as a "doormat" of terrorists in the southern Philippines.
The tag caused the suspension last year of a P54-million road project funded by the US Agency for International Development, saying, terrorist and rebel groups might use the project for their illegal activities.
Cotabato City Mayor Muslimen Sema denounced the tag made by US Ambassador Francis Ricciardone and denied accusations that terrorists were hiding in the area.
He said the members of the city's peace and order council passed a resolution condemning Ricciardone's unfair statement since security forces in Cotabato have also scored in the fight against international terrorism.
Several foreigners with alleged links to al-Qaeda terror network had been arrested in Cotabato City the past years.
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