ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 2, 2014) – Five people were injured in a grenade attack Sunday on a Catholic church in Zamboanga City in southern Philippines, police said.
Police said most of the victims were elderly villagers who were having a meeting at the San Isidro Labrador Church. The motive of the attack, which occurred in the village called Talon-Talon, is still unknown, but police said two motorcycle men was behind the blast.
The grenade, lobbed by one of the men, exploded at the door step of the old church. The attackers fled after the explosion.
No individual or group claimed responsibility for the attack and police have launched an investigation into the explosion. The victims, who are all residents of the area, were rushed to hospital and their conditions remain unknown.
Just recently, the house of a village chieftain Mohammad Nur Attang in Zamboanga City was also bombed by men riding tandem on a motorcycle in the neighboring village of Mampang, injuring three people.
Police said the Abu Sayyaf was believed behind the blast.
In November 2009, the church was also bombed, although there were no reports of casualties, but the blast damaged its concrete wall. A letter was also left by the assailant and warned that there will be more attacks in Zamboanga.
Also in 2008, the Immaculate Conception Metro Cathedral in downtown Zamboanga was also bombed, minutes after an explosion in the front of the Vienna Kaffe Haus along Veterans Avenue. A powerful bomb explosion also injured at least 20 people in Zamboanga City in August 2007. The bomb was planted at a public square in downtown Zamboanga. (Mindanao Examiner)
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