Police stumped by dud grenades thrown at Cotabato eatery

COTABATO CITY, Philippines—Police said Saturday they were still stumped by why unidentified persons would lob—twice at that—dud hand grenades at a local branch of the Mang Inasal fastfood chain.

Senior Inspector Alex Lanestosa, chief of the city police’s Station No. 1, said the perpetrators might have intentionally used such type of grenades but the reason was still unclear to investigators.

Lanestosa said the first grenade was apparently thrown at the Mang Inasal branch on SK Pendatun Avenue here on Wednesday but the incident went unnoticed until a passersby found the unexploded device.

Around 6 a.m. on Thursday, another unexploded grenade was found at the vicinity of the barbecue restaurant, which is part of the Jollibee group.

“The management of Mang Inasal said no extortion demand was received prior to the incidents,” Lanestosa said.