7 killed in Mindanao bus bombing

At least 7 people are dead and many wounded after a bomb explosion ripped through a Philippine bus in the restive region of Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner Photo - Geo Solmerano).

NORTH COTABATO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 21, 2010) – At least 7 people were killed and more than a dozen injured after a bomb explosion Thursday ripped through a passenger bus in the restive region of Mindanao, south of the Philippines, the military said.

The blast occurred at around 10:30 in the morning as the bus was passing the village of Dalapitan in North Cotabato’s Matalam town. “We have deployed troops in the area to secure public places and assist in the evacuation of the wounded,” Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Hao, a spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, told the Mindanao Examiner.

He said initial reports claimed that at least 7 passengers had died and many wounded from the explosion. “We still don’t know who was behind this attack, but we condemned this act of terrorism,” Hao said.

The bomb apparently went off from the baggage compartment of the bus, owned by Rural Transit of Mindanao. The bus was heading to Cagayan del Oro city from Tacurong, a city in Sultan Kudarat province.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for the attack, but rebel groups are actively operating in North Cotabato and in nearby provinces of Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato and Maguindanao.

Hao said authorities are investigating the explosion.

In August, armed men disguised as policemen also torched a bus owned by Rural Transit after killing its driver and two of-duty police officers at a road block in Lanao del Norte’s Kapatagan town. Several bomb attacks on provincial buses, blamed to rebels extorting money, also occurred in recent years in Mindanao. (With reports from Mark Navales, Geo Solmerano and Becky de Asis)

4 wounded in bus explosion in Mindanao

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Six people wounded in bus explosion in Mindanao

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 04, 2009) – A powerful explosion on Saturday ripped through a commuter bus in Koronadal City in the restive region of the southern Philippines, wounding at least 6 people, police said.

Police said the explosion damaged the bus owned by Husky Transit while it was picking up passengers at a terminal in Koronadal City in South Cotabato. The bus was enroute to General Santos City when the explosion occurred at around 10.30 a.m.

“Police forces headed by Superintendent Froilan Quidilla have secured the area. Six people are injured in the explosion. Police is still investigating the blast,” said police desk officer John Paul Deliso.

No group or individual claimed responsibility for the explosion, but the attack occurred three days after police announced they captured Manuel Guevarra, a member of the extortion syndicate called the Al-Khobar gang, blamed for the spate of bombings in Mindanao.

It said Guevarra was behind the string of attacks the past years in Mindanao that killed and wounded dozens of civilians, including a bombing last month the left 9 people wounded in Kidapawan City in North Cotabato province.

The Army’s 6th Infantry Division had previously linked the larger Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to the spate of bombings on buses and civilian targets in the troubled region of Mindanao.

Former rebels are also known to work as criminals in large parts of Mindanao, demanding illegal taxation or money from bus operators and other businesses in exchange for protection from bomb and other attacks.

The MILF, which is fighting for independence, denied all allegations and blamed the attacks on other rebel groups such as the Abu Sayyaf and the Al-Khobar. (With a report from Geo Solmerano)

Bomb explodes in Mindanao bus terminal

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 22, 2009) - An improvised bomb exploded before dawn Sunday at a commuter bus depot in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said the explosion occurred at around 2.45 a.m. in Cotabato City. There were no reports of civilian casualties but two buses, owned by Husky, were slightly damaged from the blast, said Lt. Col. Jonathan Ponce, a spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division.

Ponce quickly blamed the attack to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels who were allegedly extorting money from the bus firm.

“The motive of the attack is extortion by the MILF-SOG,” he said, referring to the so-called Special Operations Group, a unit of the rebel group.

But police investigators were eyeing business rivalry in the blast. The MILF denied the accusation and said it has nothing to do with the attack.

“Why blame us for everything that is happening in Mindanao, we have nothing to do with it. We are not terrorists,” said Eid Kabalu, a senior MILF leader. (Mindanao Examiner)

Jemaah Islamiya Affiliate Blamed For Philippine Bus Bombing

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 25, 2008) – Police and military on Friday tightened security in the southern Philippines following a bombing of a commuter bus that killed one passenger and wounded at least 35 others in Digos City in Davao del Sur province.

Police said one of the injured in the blast died on Friday and that at least 35 people were injured in the attack believed carried out by the al-Khobar gang, blamed for the spate of bombings and extortion activities in Mindanao.

Police is also investigating reports that a woman who posed as passenger was behind Thursday attack on the bus owned by the family of Mayor Rey Uy, of Tagum City.

Three days before the bombing, Uy said unidentified men demanded P500,000 from his bus firm and P50,000 every month as protection money. Uy said the men also threatened to bomb his buses if he will not pay up.

“We have reports that the al-Khobar was behind the attack and that a woman carried out the bombing,” Lt. Col. Kurt Decapia, a spokesman for the Army’s 10th Infantry Division, told the Mindanao Examiner.

Decapia alsop corrected military reports that two people were killed in the bombing. Decapia said the military is investigating the blast and the type of explosive used in the attack. He said the al-Khobar gang is composed mostly of Filipino terrorists and some of them were former Muslim rebels trained by the Indonesian militant grouped called Jemaah Islamiya.

“Most of the members of this group were trained by JI terrorists in the manufacture of homemade bombs and we have stepped up efforts to locate them and stop their terrorist activities,” he said.

On Tuesdays, government troops also recovered a motorcycle rigged with explosives in nearby Maguindanao province. The military said the motorbike was abandoned by its driver due to flat tires before it could a government checkpoint in Ampatuan town.

The military said it had received intelligence reports that terrorists were planning to attack civilian targets using motorcycles rigged with explosives. Military explosives' experts found an improvised explosive device composed of TNT on the motorbike's engine and connected to a detonator and a cellular phone that served as triggering device. (Mindanao Examiner)

2 Dead, 27 Injured In Bus Bombing In Southern Philippines

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 24, 2008) – At least two people were killed and more than two dozen others wounded in Thursday bombing of a commuter bus in the southern Philippines, police and military said.

The attack occurred at noontime at a bus depot in Digos City in Davao del Sur province, said Lieutenant Colonel Kurt Decapia, a spokesman for the Army’s 10th Infantry Division.

“At least two people are confirmed dead and ten others or possibly more were killed in the bus bombing. We have deployed soldiers to help police forces secure the area,” Decapia told the Mindanao Examiner.

But police said at least 27 passengers were injured in the blast caused by a homemade bomb planted in the bus.

“We have reports that 27 passengers were injured in the blast caused by a homemade bomb explosion. A cell phone was used to trigger detonation of the bomb,” said Senior Superintendent Cesario Darantinao, the provincial police chief.

Darantinao said the bus, owned by the Davao Metro Shuttle, came from the neighboring town of Bansalan. He said the explosion occurred at around 11.30 a.m.

The military said no groups claimed responsibility for the bombing. “We still don’t know who was behind this or the motive of the attack,” Decapia said.

But bus bombings in the troubled region were previously blamed by authorities to the Indonesian terror group Jemaah Islamiya and its local affiliate the Abu Sayyaf and the al-Khobar gang and rouge members of the larger Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which is negotiating peace with Manila.

On Tuesdays, government soldiers recovered a motorcycle rigged with explosives in Maguindanao province in the Muslim autonomous region also in southern Philippines where President Gloria Arroyo toured.

The motorbike was abandoned by its driver due to a flat tire before it could a military checkpoint in Ampatuan town. The military said it had received intelligence reports this week that terrorists could be planning to attack civilian targets using motorcycles rigged with explosives.

It said the motorcycle was en route to Davao City, which was previously bombed by JI and MILF rebels. Military explosives' experts found an improvised explosive device composed of TNT on the motorbike’s engine and connected to a detonator and a cellular phone that served as triggering device. (Mindanao Examiner)

Bus Bombed In Southern Philippines, 2 Killed

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 24, 2008) – At least two people were killed and ten others wounded in a bombing Thursday of a commuter bus in the southern Philippines, officials said.

The attack occurred at noontime at a bus depot in Digos City in Davao del Sur province, said Lt. Kurt Decapia, a spokesman for the Army’s 10th Infantry Division.

“At least two people are confirmed dead and ten others or possibly more were killed in the bus bombing. We have deployed soldiers to help police forces secure the area,” Decapia said.

He said no groups claimed responsibility for the bombing. “We still don’t know who was behind this or the motive of the attack,” he said.

But bus bombings in the troubled region were previously blamed by authorities to the Indonesian terror group Jemaah Islamiya and its local affiliate the Abu Sayyaf and the al-Khobar gang and rouge members of the larger Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which is negotiating peace with Manila.

On Tuesdays, government soldiers recovered a motorcycle rigged with explosives in Maguindanao province in the Muslim autonomous region also in southern Philippines where President Gloria Arroyo toured.

The motorbike was abandoned by its driver due to a flat tire before it could a military checkpoint in Ampatuan town. The military said it had received intelligence reports this week that terrorists could be planning to attack civilian targets using motorcycles rigged with explosives.

It said the motorcycle was en route to Davao City, which was previously bombed by JI and MILF rebels. Military explosives' experts found an improvised explosive device composed of TNT on the motorbike’s engine and connected to a detonator and a cellular phone that served as triggering device. (Mindanao Examiner)

Homemade Bomb Explodes In Southern Philippines

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3 Injured In New Bus Bombing In Southern Philippines

A truckload of soldiers return to a military camp in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines Wednesday July 18, 2007. A powerful bomb exploded on Wednesday inside a commuter bus in the southern Tacurong City, wounding 3 people, says regional army chief Maj. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer. (Mindanao Examiner Photo Service)

COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 18 Jul) – An improvised explosive device went off inside a commuter bus in the southern Philippines, wounding three people, officials said.

Officials said the blast occurred minutes after the bus, owned by YBL, arrived in Tacurong City in Sultan Kudarat province at around 12.30 p.m.

“Three people were injured in the blast,” Army Maj. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, commander of the 6th Infantry Division, told the Mindanao Examiner.
No group claimed responsibility for the blast, he said.

Ferrer said authorities were still investigating what type of explosive was used in the attack.

Last month, a powerful bomb exploded inside a passenger bus and killed 9 people and wounded seven more in Bansalan town in Davao del Sur province. Another bomb also went off in a bus in Cotabato City.

Police also foiled a car bombing in June in South Cotabato province in the volatile region of Mindanao, where U.S. forces are currently as part of the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines, which is helping the Filipino military defeat terrorism.

The U.S. military provides training, advice, and security assistance, and shares intelligence information with the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The United States, Canada and Britain have issued travel warnings and strongly advised their citizens not to travel to the southern part of the Philippines because of threats of terrorism and kidnappings of foreigners.

An Italian Catholic priest Giancarlo Bossi was kidnapped June 10 in Zamboanga Sibugay province by rogue Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels. (Mark Navales and Juan Magtanggol)

Commuter Bus Bombed In Southern Philippines

COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 07 Jul) – A powerful bomb explosion ripped through a commuter bus Saturday in the southern Philippines, police and military authorities said.

The blast damaged a bus owned by YBL in Koronadal City in South Cotabato province, but there were no reports of casualties. The bus came from Tacurong City in Sultan Kudarat province.

Authorities said the explosive was planted at the rear of the bus and detonated at around 5.35 p.m. when all the passengers had disembarked at a transport depot.

No group or individual claimed responsibility for the blast. Police and military would not say whether the latest attack was connected to the terror groups Abu Sayyaf or Jemaah Islamiya.

The bus was bombed at a time the firm’s transport workers were threatening to stage a strike because of labor dispute.

Last month, a commuter bus owned by Weena Bus Lines was also bombed at a transport terminal in Bansalan town in Davao del Sur province.

Foreign embassies have warned their citizens against traveling in the southern Philippines because of threats of terror attacks and kidnappings for ransom. Filipino troops are battling Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya militants in the volatile region.

Security forces are also pursuing rogue members of the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, who are holding an Italian Roman Catholic priest Giancarlo Bossi kidnapped June 10 in Zamboanga Sibugay province. (Juan Magtanggol)

RP Military To Deploy Women Soldiers In Bus Depots

DAVAO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 15 Jun) – The Philippine military on Friday raised its alert following two bombings in the southern region of Mindanao that killed at least 9 people.

Army Colonel Alan Luga, commander of the anti-terror group “Task Force Davao,” said female soldiers would be deployed in bus depots here to help police authorities inspect passengers, particularly women.

“We will be fielding women personnel to do body search,” Luga said. (With a report from Juley Reyes)

9 Dead In New Bombings In Philippines

COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 15 Jun) At least 9 people were killed in one of two commuter bus bombings on Friday in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said a bomb exploded inside a bus in the town of Bansalan in Davao del Sur province at around 6 p.m., killing as many as 9 passengers. At least seven more were injured in the blast, said Lt. Col. Rolando Bautista, of the Army’s 10th Infantry Division.

“We are still awaiting reports,” he said.

Another bomb exploded at a bus depot in Cotabato City in Maguindanao province, but there were no reports of casualties, said Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, a spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division.

“The bombing in Cotabato left no casualties, unlike in Davao where nine people are reported dead. The authorities are on high alert now because of the bombings,” Ando told the regional newspaper, the Mindanao Examiner.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for the twin blasts, but Ando said the explosion in Cotabato City could be the handiwork of extortionists, saying, the bus firm, Weena Bus Lines, received a letter on Thursday demanding two million pesos as “protection money.”

“The extortion letter was signed by one Commander Barum Bado. We never heard of the name, not even on the military’s order of battle. It could be an alias to cover the real identity of the bomber,” Ando said.

On Tuesday, Police foiled a possible car bombing after a car, laden with explosives, was discovered abandoned near the municipal hall of Surallah in South Cotabato province.

An informant tipped off authorities about the car bomb. Provincial police chief Robert Kiunisala said the car contained mortar bombs rigged to electronic timers and other explosives that would trigger detonation.

Last week, at least eleven people were wounded in separate bus bombings in South Cotabato.

Eleven people were killed and more than 100 others wounded in separate bomb attacks last month in Mindanao, where security forces are battling members of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group and Jemaah Islamiya.

The United States, Canada and Britain have issued travel warnings and strongly advised their citizens not to travel to the southern part of the Philippines because of threats of terrorism and kidnappings of foreigners. (Mark Navales and Romy Bwaga)