Soldier hurt in Patikul, Sulu blast

ISABELA CITY, Basilan –– Two explosions rocked Patikul town in Sulu Tuesday, August 13, hurting a soldier.

Army Major John Arvin Encinas, Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) spokesperson, identified the injured soldier as Army Corporal Rene M. Mediana, a K9 handler of the 43rd Infantry Battalion.

Encinas said Mediana was hit in the second explosion.

“He suffered multiple shrapnel wounds on the lower part of his body,” Encinas said.

The first blast, from a suspected improvised explosive device, happened around 7:30 a.m. at Sitio Tibongtibong, Barangay Igasan in Patikul, some 30 meters from where security forces were stationed.

The second explosion occurred an hour later, just 10 meters away from where the first bomb went off.

Encinas said the 13th Special Forces Company has dispatched teams to search the area and clear the blast site’s vicinity of any other explosive remnants.

Mediana was part of a team sent to search and clear the first blast site when the second bomb exploded. /lzb