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9 wounded in bomb attack
[Straits Times] NINE people were wounded in a bomb attack at a bus terminal in the southern Philippines on Saturday, police said.The blast, the latest in a string of attacks in the south over the past few months, hit in the town of Tacurong on Mindanao island, regional police spokesman Chief Inspector Alexander Sarabia said. While no one has claimed responsibility for Saturday's blast, the military said they have reason to believe it was carried out by a 'special operations group' of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). 'The planned bombing activities targetting bus terminals and military installations clearly ... is a part of their diversionary effort to inflict casualties,' regional army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Ponce said. 'These rogue MILF groups are very desperate,' he said, adding that a military ordnance team was helping police secure the area around the attack to make sure there are no follow-up blasts. The 12,000-strong MILF in August last year broke a five-year ceasefire and attacked several towns and villages across Mindanao, sparking a humanitarian crisis that has left tens of thousands homeless. The fighting has also left more than 300 combatants on both sides dead, as well as many others injured, according to the military. Posted by: Fred 2009-06-28 |
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