Sultan Kudarat town mayor, police escort hurt in bomb attack

COTABATO CITY, Philippines – A Sultan Kudarat town mayor and his police escort were wounded in an attack Monday morning, the police said.

Lebak Mayor Dionisio Besana and his police escort were wounded as the mayor was walking toward the Lebak town hall at about 10 a.m. when a parked motorcycle rigged with an improvised explosive device went off, Senior Superintendent Rex Dela Rosa, Sultan Kudarat police director, said.

Besana and his police escort, identified only as Police Officer 1 Bansuela, sustained multiple shrapnel injuries but have been declared out of danger.

They were rushed to the Lebak District Hospital in Barangay (village) Salaman.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Initial police investigation showed that the IED was cell-phone triggered and attached to parked motorcycle along Besana’s regular route on his way to office.

Elements of the Philippine Marines’ First Marine Brigade based in Lebak are now helping the police in tracking down the assassins.

Besana has been receiving threats from a still unidentified group, police said.

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