GENERAL SANTOS (Isagani Palma / 07 Sept) At least two of six people wounded in a grenade blast Thursday in General Santos died as police and military tightened security in the southern port city.
Police said a man and woman succumbed to shrapnel wounds after a fragmentation grenade ripped through a crowded market at around 6.30 p.m.
Mayor Pedro Acharon earlier reported that 6 people were injured in the blast. He said police and were military were investigating the explosion after witnesses saw a boy hurled the grenade into a crowd.
"Witnesses said they saw a boy lobbed the grenade," he said. "We are investigating the motive of the blast whether this has something to do with an old grudge."
The blast occurred during rush hour when many people were returning home from work. It was not immediately known if the attack had anything to do with the fighting between troops and Abu Sayyaf militants tied to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya terror networks in the island of Jolo .
The attack came just two days after the Southern Philippine military warned of possible Abu Sayyaf bombings in key cities in the country as the 5th anniversary of the September 11 al-Qaeda attacks in the United States.
Fighting is fierce in Jolo as the battle entered its 5th day. Close to 100 militants, including 8 soldiers were killed in the clashes as security forces battle about 200 Abu Sayyaf gunmen protecting two Jemaah Islamiya leaders Dulmatin and Umar Patek, who tagged as behind the 2002 Bali bombings in Indonesia .
A small group of US soldiers involved in training Filipino troops were helping the local military in the hunt for Janjalani and Dulmatin and Patek.
The US offered as much as $10 million bounty for Dulmatin and $1 million for Patek's capture and another $5 million for known Abu Sayyaf leaders, including Janjalani, its chieftain. President Gloria Arroyo also put up P100 million rewards for the capture of the group's leaders and their members dead or alive.
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