COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 22 Apr) – A bomb explosion injured one person Sunday in the restive region of the southern Philippines, where security forces are battling militants whose groups are tied to al-Qaeda terror network.
The bombing came days after the United States and Australia warned of terror attacks in the southern Philippines.
Police and military said the bomb, assembled from a mortar rocket rigged to a timer, exploded in the town of Midsayap in the troubled North Cotabato province. One woman was injured in the blast.
Two people were held by the police over the latest attack.
Both the United States and Australia have told their citizens not to travel to the southern Philippines because of heightened terror activities.
On Thursday, Abu Sayyaf militants beheaded six construction workers and a fisherman they kidnapped in Parang town in Jolo island.
The beheading came just four days after Jolo governor Benjamin Loong rejected the Abu Sayyaf demand of five million pesos ransom in exchange for the lives of the hostages, six of them were workers of the politician in his construction firm.
Families of the victims have blamed Loong for the death, saying, he should have opened negotiations with the kidnappers for the safe release of the hostages.
Loong insisted the government has a strict no-ransom policy and said he would pay for the funeral of all seven men.
Last month, Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels clashed with security forces in Midsayap town and forced tens of thousands of people fleeing their homes. The MILF, which is currently negotiating peace with Manila, accused the military of breaking a fragile six-year old cease-fire agreement.
MILF leaders said troops attacked rebel forces in the guise of pursuing the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya near their strongholds. (Mark Navales)
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