Explosions rock North Cotabato, Maguindanao
COTABATO CITY, Philippines—Explosions rocked North Cotabato and Maguindanao in less than 48 hours since Monday while another attempt to set off a powerful bomb was foiled by alert civilians.
At 9:15 a.m. an improvised explosive device was set off by still unidentified men at a roadside in Pagalungan, Maguindanao, police authorities said.
No one was hurt in the blast, which went off seconds after a passenger bus passed by the blast site near Barangay Poblacion, according to Senior Insp. Solayman Bakal, Pagalungan police chief.
Bakal said the IED could have been left by the suspects as policemen and soldiers put up several checkpoints following the clashes in Maguindanao.
About 2:30 a.m. police bomb experts in Midsayap, North Cotabato foiled bombing attempt by still unidentified men when they defuse a powerful IED fashioned from 81 mm mortar with mobile phone as trigger mechanism.
The IED was left by the suspects in front of a vulcanizing shop along Sto. Nino Street.
On Monday, an IED also went off in front of a para-military detachment in Barangay Tinibtiban in Pikit, North Cotabato.
Authorities believed the series of bombing attempts were related to the armed conflict in Maguindanao, where government forces have been battling gunmen belonging to the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.
