2 killed, 15 wounded in South RP grenade blast

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 17, 2009) – Two villagers were killed and more than a dozen injured in a grenade attack in the southern Filipino province of Sulu, the military said on Thursday.

It said the explosion occurred shortly before midnight Wednesday at a carnival on a village called Tubig Puti in the town of Luuk.

“Two civilians were killed and 15 are wounded in the explosion. They were hit by shrapnel,” said Major Ramon David Hontiveros, a spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command.

He said authorities are still investigating the motive of the attack. No individual or group has claimed responsibility for the blast, but the terrorist Abu Sayyaf group is actively operating in the area. Clan war is also common in Sulu.

On Monday night, an explosion also rocked the port of Jolo in the province where US troops, escorted by a small team of Filipino soldiers, were unloading cargoes from a boat.

The soldiers, who panicked by the explosion, indiscriminately fired their weapons, hitting a mosque and several small buildings at the port.

US and Filipino troops involved in the shooting ignored investigations by the police and port authorities. The US troops previously closed down a hospital in the province on suspicion wounded rebels were being treated there.

American Special Forces are deployed in Sulu since 2006 and have been assisting the local military in defeating the Abu Sayyaf. (Mindanao Examiner)