Death toll in Sulu bomb explosion rises to 4
COTABATO, Philippines (Xinhua) - The death toll in the bomb explosion blamed on militants on Saturday night in a commercial area in the southern Philippine province of Sulu rose to four, authorities said today.
Randolph Cabangbang, spokesman of the military's Western Mindanao Command, said two more wounded had died at the hospital after an improvised explosive device blast along Serantes Street in Jolo town at around 6:55 p.m. Saturday, which killed two people instantly.
Besides the four casualties, there are six others injured in the terror attack. "We have four fatalities, only two died soon after the explosion," he said.
Felicisimo Khu, chief of the Directorate for Integrated Police Operations in Western Mindanao, said investigation by the police indicated that the bomb was planted at the generator of the store in the area.
No one group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but government security forces said they are looking into possible involvement of the Abu Sayyaf terror group.
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Police suspect Abu Sayyaf in Jolo bombing
Agence France Presse, AbsCbnNews.com | 03/04/2012 12:34 PM | Article link
ZAMBOANGA - Islamic extremists with links to the Al-Qaeda network are suspected of carrying out a deadly bomb attack that left two dead and 13 wounded in the southernPhilippines, police said Sunday.
The Abu Sayyaf group likely planted the bomb that exploded in a commercial district of the southern island of Jolo late Saturday, said provincial police chief Senior Superintendent Antonio Freyra.
A street vendor and a schoolteacher were killed and 13 others were wounded when the home-made bomb exploded in Jolo, which has been a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf for over a decade, police said.
"Our initial report is that the Abu Sayyaf was behind the bombing. It is possible that this was in retaliation for the killing by the police of an Abu Sayyaf member last week," Freyra said.
The bomb went off in the same commercial area where the Abu Sayyaf member was shot dead when police caught him extorting money from shop-owners, Freyra said.
Security has been tightened on the heavily-forested island to prevent future attacks from the group, which has long used kidnappings for ransom and extortion to raise funds, Freyra said.
The Abu Sayyaf is a small group of Islamic militants founded in the 1990s with seed money from Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
It has been blamed for the worst extremist attacks in Philippine history including a ferry bombing in Manila in 2004 that killed more than 100 people.
Despite the arrest and killing of many of its key leaders, the group remains an enduring security threat with about 300 fighters still active, authorities have warned.
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