'At least 10 killed' in Philippines blast
A bomb explosion at a basketball game in the southern Philippines today killed up to 10 people and wounded at least 40 others, including the town mayor, who authorities said was the likely target of the attack.
Police officer Sharifa Irijani in Parang town said she counted at least 10 bodies when she arrived at the municipal gymnasium where the bomb exploded. Scores of people were injured, including an 11-month-old daughter of a policewoman, she said.
In Manila, National Police spokesman Senior Supt. Joel Goltiao said at least eight people were confirmed dead and 43 others were wounded, including two police.
“The impact was so strong that many were hit by shrapnel and the vehicles outside, including the mayor’s car, were heavily damaged,” Irijani said in a telephone interview.
She said Mayor Vivencio Bataga, who had already survived three attempts on his life, was talking to someone just outside the gym when the blast occurred.
Although authorities said the bomb was planted on a motorcycle parked in front of the gymnasium, Irijani said many of the victims were hit by shrapnel inside the gymnasium, which had a roof but no walls. Others were hurt in the stampede, she said.
Witnesses said the spectators were mostly teenagers. Bloodstains, rubber sandals, T-shirts and twisted metal from vehicles littered the blast site, they said.
Mayor Bataga was the suspected target of the attack, said Lt. Col. Julieto Ando. It was unclear what kind of explosive was used or who was behind the blast, he said.
The southern Philippines has the largest number of illegal weapons in the country, and gunrunning syndicates sell weapons to rebel and criminal groups there.
Bataga, a tough-talking former army officer, had blamed political rivals or drug syndicates in September for a bomb explosion in front of a local church where he was attending Mass with his family. One of his bodyguards was slightly injured.
Unidentified men had earlier fired a rocket-propelled grenade that missed Bataga’s vehicle, and in April, a bomb exploded while he was in a public market.
Aside from fighting drug dealers in Parang, a predominantly Muslim coastal town 830 kilometres (515 miles) south of Manila, Bataga is also a vocal critic of Muslim separatist guerrillas active in the area.
Elsewhere, authorities said an 8-year-old boy was killed today in southern Zamboanga city when a homemade bomb he was playing with exploded.
On Friday, one person was killed and four others were wounded when a hand grenade they were also apparently playing with exploded in Datu Odin Sinsuat town in Maguindanao province.
