SULTAN KUDARAT – Police reported a grenade attack on the house of a southern Philippine town ahead of midterm elections in the restive region of Mindanao.

Police said an unidentified assailant lobbed the grenade on the compound of the house of Lambayong town mayor Ramon Abalos in Sultan Kudarat province late Friday.

The politician was not in the house at the time of the blast and police said no one was reported killed or injured in the explosion. It was the second attack on the mayor’s house in just 5 months.

Senior Inspector Herman Luna said the attacker was on a motorbike driven by another man and both escaped after the blast. No individual or group claimed responsibility for the attack, he said.

In July, police said the mayor’s brother, Carlos, who is a town council member; and a cousin, Richard, were both wounded in another grenade attack on his house.

There was no immediate statement from the mayor and police did not say whether the latest attack was connected to politics or not. Filipinos are to elect their new set of leaders, from senators, congressman to local government positions.

Elections in Mindanao are traditionally violent, particularly in Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat and Basilan, among other provinces. (Rhoderick Beñez)

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