6 Army troops hurt in Cotabato blast

KIDAPAWAN CITY – Six soldiers under the Army’s 19th Infantry Battalion were injured in a roadside bomb explosion in Barangay Doles in Magpet town, Cotabato province on Thursday, North Cotabato Governor Emmylou Taliño Mendoza said.

Mendoza said the explosion happened when a 19th-IB medical team was heading back to the Army headquarters inside the Cotabato Provincial Capitol in Barangay Amas around 1 p.m.

“They participated in the medical mission held in Barangay Binay, Magpet,” she said.

The injured soldiers were identified as 2nd Lt. Rustine Barco, Corporals Ronnie Gutierez, Roldan Parcon, Shanon Obaldo, and Privates Rolando Bublao and Dennis Andol.

The wounded soldiers were brought to the Madonna General Hospital here.

Two of them were later moved to Davao City.

The Army said it believed that New People’s Army (NPA) rebels were responsible for the attack, which also damaged at least three military vehicles./lb