COTABATO CITY ? The palatial home of former Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr. in Shariff Aguak was subjected to twin mortar attacks on Sunday night, the acting police chief of Maguindanao said.

One man was reported injured, and the attacks, which occurred in succession, caused panic among the residents, Senior Supt. Alex Lenesis said.

According to Lenesis, an M-79 grenade was launched from somewhere and landed at the back of a mosque in the compound of Ampatuan?s mansion at about 10 p.m. on Sunday.
The mansion has been guarded by Army soldiers since Dec. 5, when the Ampatuan patriarch was arrested and taken to Davao City.

Lenesis said that while police and military troops were examining the blast site, another M-79 grenade exploded at the back of the Petron gas station some 100 meters from the mansion.
Pinguiaman Bara, 65, whose house is near the gas station, was wounded in the left arm.

The gas station is owned by Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. It closed shop after the Nov. 23 massacre of 57 people in Ampatuan, Maguindanao.

Mansion prime target

The mayor is the primary suspect in the massacre and is being held at the National Bureau of Investigation headquarters in Manila.

Lenesis said no one had claimed responsibility for the twin attacks.

He said the Ampatuan mansion was the primary target and that the attacker might have miscalculated in firing the grenade launcher.

Lenesis said the attacks could have been perpetrated by members of the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

But MILF civil-military chief Eid Kabalu denied this. He said his group was at odds with the Ampatuans and had nothing to do with the attacks.

?We have nothing to gain in doing that,? Kabalu told the Inquirer by phone.

Nightly robberies

Rajah Buayan Mayor Yakub Ampatuan, who lives in Shariff Aguak, said a robbery had been reported in the capital town every night since last week.

?There was a robbery attempt on my house that was thwarted by the timely arrival of policemen and soldiers,? he said.

Without identifying the purported robbers, the mayor said their targets were the Ampatuan mansions in Shariff Aguak.

He said the firing of grenades at Ampatuan Sr.?s mansion was carried out apparently because of the botched robbery attempts.