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COTABATO CITY, Sultan Kudarat: Two people were critically injured
when powerful improvised bombs exploded Friday near a fast-food
chain in Cotabato City, police said.
Two bombs, fashioned from 60-millimeter mortars,
were planted at a concrete fence at the rear of the Jollibee
hamburger chain as the lunch crowd was building up, said Senior
Insp. Samson Obatay.
“Two people were wounded and rushed to
hospital,” Obatay told AFP, adding that two parked vehicles were
also damaged.
Initial reports reaching Camp Aguinaldo said
that the improvised explosive device (IED) went off about 11 a.m. at
the corner of Macacua Street and Pendatum Avenue.
The thick concrete fence however absorbed the
impact, leaving the restaurant intact, he said. A bomb squad also
recovered a third device that failed to explode.
“This could be the handiwork of the Jemaah
Islamiah [JI] or the Abu Sayyaf, because the explosives have the
signatures of these groups,” Obatay said.
Meanwhile, military sources say that the
explosive device used was composed of three pieces of 66mm mortar
shells contained in a box that was planted near the popular food
chain.
The source added that a badly damaged cellular
phone casing was recovered from the blast site, but were still
unsure if this was used as triggering device for the IED.
Previous bombing incident in Cotabato City and
in other places in the restive Mindanao areas saw the use of
cellular phones as triggering device for the IED.
The source quickly added that police now have in
their custody an unidentified witness, who might have seen the
suspect or suspects plant the bomb.
--Anthony Vargas and AFP
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