Marawi City Hall blast kills 3, wounds 26 more

MARAWI CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / October 20, 2009) – At least one person was killed and at least two dozen others were wounded in a grenade attack Tuesday at the Marawi City Hall in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said the explosion occurred near the election office at the city hall compound where new voters lined up to register for next year’s local and national elections.

“At least one was killed on the spot and at least eleven others are wounded in the attack. The grenade was thrown at the compound of the Marawi City hall where registrations for new voters are going on.”

“This could be politically-motivated, but police is still investigating this incident,” Brigadier General Rey Ardo, commander of army forces in Lanao del Sur province, told the regional newspaper the Mindanao Examiner.

A local reporter of the Mindanao Examiner said she saw at least 26 people rushed to hospital, three of them seriously wounded from the blast.

“At least 3 people are dead and 26 more were wounded in the grenade explosion which occurred before one in the afternoon,” she said.

No individual or group has claimed responsibility for the attack ahead of the May polls. Elections in the southern Philippine are traditionally marred with violence and bloody in many provinces in Mindanao in Mindanao. (With a report from Merlyn Manos)