14 persons hurt in grenade attack in Sultan Kudarat

ESPERANZA, Sultan Kudarat — At least 14 persons were hurt on Sunday night, after unidentified men tossed two hand grenades at a village “peryahan” (village carnival) in celebration of the town patronal fiesta.

Col. Lito Sobejana, 601st Infantry Brigade commander, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer by phone that the one of the grenades exploded at 8:20 p.m. at the town’s “peryahan” near the town hall.

Citing initial reports, Sobejana said witnesses pointed to two men on a motorbike tossing the grenades and sped away. One of the grenades failed to go off.

Witnesses said five were seen lying and heavily bloodied after the blast.

Esperanza town Mayor Helen Latog said everything was in chaos minutes after the blast.

“We have no idea yet who did this,” she said. “We have no idea why the peryahan was attacked,” Latog said in a phone interview.

Bloodied slippers, shirts, shoes, gambling and fanfare paraphernalia littered the blast site as scene of the crime operatives scour for pieces of evidence.  SFM