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Philippines hit by three blasts
At least six people have died and dozens have been injured after a trio of bombings in the Philippines. A bus is reported to have exploded in central Manila, shortly after two other blasts in the south of the country. The separatist group Abu Sayyaf, which is currently fighting soldiers on the island of Jolo, said it was responsible for at least two of the blasts. A rebel spokesman reportedly told local radio the attacks were a "Valentine's gift" to President Gloria Arroyo.  One blast happened in General Santos City, when a bomb destroyed a parked motorcycle taxi outside a shopping mall, killing at least three people. "There was a loud explosion... The ground was shaking. People were screaming and running in all directions," a witness told Reuters news agency. National police chief Edgar Aglipay said the bomb was believed to have been stashed in a bag at a taxi stand near the entrance to the mall. Almost simultaneously, a bomb exploded at a bus terminal in Davao City, injuring at least five people. Davao's mayor Rodrigo Duterte called it "the handiwork of terrorists", and vowed to "track the killers down". About half an hour later, a blast went off in the Makati business district of the capital, Manila, killing at least three people. One witness said smoke could be seen from below a nearby elevated-train station. In a phone call to DZBB radio after the first two attacks, Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Solaiman said the group was responsible. "Our latest operations - planned and executed with precision by the gallant warriors of Islam - is our continuing response to the Philippine government's atrocities committed against Muslims everywhere," Mr Solaiman said. "We will find more ways and means to inflict more harm to your people's lives and properties, and we will not stop unless we get justice for the countless Muslims lives and properties that you people have destroyed". Regional police chief Antonio Billiones said he was still investigating the three incidents on Monday. "But, we can link the attacks to what is happening in the mountains of Jolo," he said. Fighting has been going on for a week on Jolo island, between soldiers and rebels thought to be from both the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group and a break-away faction of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).
Posted by: Steve 2005-02-14 |
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