COTABATO CITY (Juan Magtanggol / 13 Nov) - A boy was injured in a mortar attack Monday in Cotabato City in the restive southern Philippine province of Maguindanao, a regional army spokesman said.
Lt. Col. Julieto Ando said the attack occurred at around 2.15 p.m. the same time the governor of the Muslim autonomous region, Zaldy Ampatuan, was delivering his state of the region address near his office. "One boy was injured in the blast," Ando told the Mindanao Examiner.
"Authorities are investigating the attack and we still don't know who was behind this," he said.
It was not immediately known if the attack was aimed at disrupting Ampatuan's address. "We don't know if the attack was aimed at disrupting the event, but police and military forces are tracking down the perpetrator of this cowardly act," Ando said.
Other reports said two mortar rockets had been fired towards the village and that a boy and an adult were wounded in the attacks.
Ampatuan, a former town mayor and son of the influential governor of Maguindanao, Andal Ampatuan, is a staunch ally of President Gloria Arroyo.
The elder Ampatuan also survived a roadside bombing in June in his hometown Shariff Aguak and authorities quickly blamed a senior Moro Islamic Liberation Front leader, whose wife was gunned down days later in Cotabato City. (Mindanao Examiner)
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