2 hurt in Zamboanga City blast
By Julie AlipalaInquirer Mindanao
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines—Two persons, including a child, were injured when a grenade exploded near a street corner here on Wednesday afternoon, a police report said.
The explosion occurred at the corner of Camins and Nuñez streets around 5:25 p.m., a report released by the Directorate for Integrated Police Operation (Dipo) in Western Mindanao said.
The victims, who were rushed to a hospital due to minor injuries, were identified as Peter Carpio, 12, and Rudid Bejerano, 20.
According to a police source, the attack could be politically motivated as it targeted a vehicle owned by a Sulu politician.
Authorities later arrested two men suspected of lobbing the grenade, Task Force Zamboanga commander Colonel Buenaventura Pascual said.
The identities of the two men were not immediately released but Pascual said they were being investigated by the city police.
The police source, who requested anonymity for lack of authority to speak on the matter, said one of the two men hurled a grenade onto a pickup truck owned by Mayor Firhana Mohammad but it was not clear if the executive was on board at the time of the incident.
The victims were by the roadside when the blast occurred, the source said.
The city police said an investigation was still being conducted as to the motive of the attack and declined to issue further statement.
On August 2, Mohammad’s convoy was also ambushed as she was on her way to the Omar town hall.
It was Mohammad’s first day at work after the Commission on Elections voided the proclamation of Ahmad Omar as mayor and declared her the winner of the 2010 mayoral elections in the said town.
Three police officers, including Omar police chief Senior Inspector Nasirudin Jailani, and a civilian were killed in the said ambush.
Mohammad was unscathed in the attack. Perpetrators remain unidentified.
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Tags: Acts of terror , Crime , Explosion , Philippines - Regions
