COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 26, 2012) – A bomb explosion on Monday wounded a Muslim rebel in the restive province of Maguindanao in the southern Philippines, officials said.
Col. Prudencio Asto, a spokesman for the 6th Infantry Division, said the bomb exploded just as members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters were passing near a government irrigation canal in the village of Lower Salvo in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town.
“One BIFF member under Mohaiden Animbang was wounded in the blast, that’s what we have gathered so far. Reports also said that the BIFF members were on their way to attend a Kanduli,” he told the Mindanao Examiner, referring to a peace ceremony among warring Muslim clans.
It was not immediately known who was behind the blast or if the attack was connected to the peace ceremony or not, but Asto said the bomb was fashioned out from a 81mm mortar.
On Friday, troops also recovered four mortar bombs rigged to a motorcycle parked in downtown Isulan in the neighboring province of Sultan Kudarat. Officials said the explosives were discovered after residents noticed a cell phone and a battery hanging from the motorcycle. (Mindanao Examiner)
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