Tondo road blast seen as ambush try

MANILA, Philippines–Was it an ambush attempt that went awry?

A grenade explosion rocked a street in Tondo, Manila, Thursday morning, which police suspected to be meant for the occupants of a sport utility vehicle (SUV) that was then being tailed by motorbike-riding assailants.

The 9 a.m. blast left a small crater at the foot of Del Pan Bridge, with a piece of shrapnel hitting another passing motorbike. The biker, 47-year-old Peter San Diego of Malabon City, was unhurt but the shrapnel damaged his gas tank.

Based on eyewitness accounts, police said two men riding on a motorcycle were seen driving alongside a maroon Mitsubishi Adventure on the southbound lane approaching Del Pan Bridge.

One of the men tried to smash the driver-side window of the SUV. As the SUV increased its speed, a small object fell to the ground next to it and exploded.

Both vehicles did not stop after the blast, which apparently damaged neither. The SUV was last seen “chasing” the motorbike going to Anda Circle, according to Senior Insp. John Guiagui of the Manila Police District’s Del Pan precinct.

Guiagui said the assailants on the bike may have been trying to stop the SUV in order to kill or rob its occupants.

Investigators later concluded that the explosion was that of an MK2 hand grenade.

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