KIDAPAWAN CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 11, 2012) – Two people were killed and five more wounded when a homemade bomb explosion ripped through a provincial bus on Wednesday in the southern Philippines, officials said.
Officials said the improvised explosive was left by an unidentified passenger in the baggage compartment of the bus, owned by Rural Transit of Mindanao, in North Cotabato’s Carmen town.
The blast occurred minutes after the bus pulled into a passenger terminal at around 10.25 a.m. The bus was heading to Cagayan de Oro City from Tacurong City when the bomb exploded, said Army Col. Benjamin Hao, the provincial military chief.
‘We still don’t know who was behind this attack and authorities are still investigating the bombing. Extortionist could be behind this blast,” Hao told the Mindanao Examiner.
The bus firm has been receiving threats in the past and many of its buses plying the southern Philippines were previously bombed by Muslim rebels and criminal gangs extorting money.
There was no immediate statement from the bus firm. (Geonarri Solmerano)
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