Toll from Cotabato explosion rises to 8

COTABATO CITY: The number of casualties in the car bombing that ripped through this city on Monday afternoon rose to eight after three of the 30 injured victims died while undergoing treatment in hospital, police said.

Tension also ran high in this mixed Muslim-Christian community, especially among relatives and followers of City Mayor Japal Guiani Jr., whose family the police initially tagged as the prime “target” in the bomb attack that instantly killed two of his sister’s escorts.