Maguindanao town mayor, unscathed in bomb attack, says he was target

COTABATO CITY—The mayor of a town in violence-wracked Maguindanao province survived a bombing carried out by still unidentified assailants on Monday (June 22).

South Upi Mayor Reynalbert Insular said his black Mitsubishi pickup truck was damaged by an improvised bomb that exploded past 3 p.m. at the back of the town hall.

Insular just arrived in South Upi from Cotabato City. His driver was about to park the pickup at the back of the town hall when the bomb went off.

The driver escaped unhurt.

Insular said he believed he was the target of the bomb attack, the second since he was elected town mayor in 2016.

No one has claimed responsibility.

South Upi, an upland town in Maguindanao near the border with Sultan Kudarat province, has been a site of armed hostilities.

Edited by TSB