Homemade bomb explodes in southern Philippines, no one hurt

dpa German Press Agency
Published: Saturday October 14, 2006

Zamboanga City, Philippines- A homemade bomb ripped through a public market in a southern Philippine city on Sunday, but caused only minor damages and no injuries, police said. The bomb attack was the fourth to hit the southern region of Mindanao since last week, when a series of bombings killed six people and injured more than 30 others.

The improvised explosive device was planted in a garbage can inside the public market of Pagadian City in Zamboanga del Sur province, 810 kilometres south of Manila.

No one was hurt in the early morning blast, which caused minor damages to nearby stalls, according to Chief Inspector Oscar Buenaobra, city police chief.

A second bomb was found nearby but safely defused, he added.

Buenaobra said the bomb that exploded was made from an M79 mortar with a timing device, while the second bomb was fashioned out of a B40 mortar.

"No one was hurt in the blast because the garbage can was placed far from where people were passing by," he said.

It was not yet known if the attack was related to the bombings last week, which were blamed on al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militants and Abu Sayyaf rebels.

Some 5,000 troops have been hunting down two top JI militants - Dulmatin and Omar Patek - believed to be hiding with Abu Sayyaf rebels on the southern island of Jolo since August.

Dulmatin and Patek are key suspects in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings that killed more than 200 people.

Prior to the bombings, the military arrested Dulmatin's wife for alleged immigration laws violations. The couple's two children were also taken into custody.

© 2006 dpa German Press Agency