KIDAPAWAN CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 18, 2012) – A powerful bomb exploded in a highway in the southern Philippine city of Tacurong on Thursday, but local authorities reported no casualties.
The blast raised fears that Muslim rebels opposed to a peace deal signed recently by Manila with the rival Moro Islamic Liberation Front may be linked to the attack.
The explosive was left near a branch of the Land Bank of the Philippines, although police would not say who the target of the bombing was or whether it is connected to the peace deal.
Police said the blast left a small crater at the site. No individual or group claimed responsibility for the latest bombing, but it clearly showed a dangerous breach in the local security and how vulnerable Tacurong is to terrorist attacks.
President Benigno Aquino signed the Framework Agreement with the MILF that would replace the existing five-province Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao with Bangsamoro which literally means Muslim Nation.
The Moro National Liberation Front, which signed a peace accord with Manila in September 1996, is opposing the government’s peace deal with the MILF, saying it violates the previous agreement.
MNLF leaders also warned that the Bangsamoro deal would spark unrest and could trigger new hostilities in Mindanao.
Manila shrugged off the threats and said the peace deal – supported by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Malaysia, the United States, Japan, United Kingdom, among others – would benefit some 4 million Muslims in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)
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