One child has been killed and six others wounded after a bomb exploded on a public bus in the rebellion-overwhelmed southern Philippines.
Police report stated the blast took place as the bus travelled near Cotabato City on Mindanao island, where armed groups are active.
Based on a report by the police, it stated the explosion took place on Tuesday, January 11, 2022, as the bus was travelling along a highway near Cotabato City on Mindanao island, a haven for multiple armed groups ranging from communist rebels to religious fighters.
The police Chief Master Sergeant in Aleosan town, Randy Hampac said the bomb was “inside the bus, at the end part … where there were a lot of people sitting”.
The blast shattered the back windows, killing a five-year-old boy, Hampac said. Others who got wounded included a five-month-old baby and a three-year-old child.
In addition to the police report, one of the victims said, he saw a male passenger leave “baggage” on the bus when he landed and it later exploded.
First-Ever Bus Explosion
“It was the first time for this to happen in our town. There were incidents of bombing of cell towers in previous years but this incident of an explosion in a bus, it’s the first time.”
Police Chief Master Sergeant, Randy Hampac
According to the Regional military spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel John Baldomar said by far, no group has admitted carrying out the “presumed attack”.
Attacks on buses, Catholic churches and public markets have been a feature of decades-long unrest in the region.
Manila, capital of the Philippines signed a peace agreement with the nation’s largest rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, in 2014 which ended their deadly armed rebellion.
Although the peace agreement still holds, smaller bands of fighters are in opposition, including fighters professing allegiance to the ISIL (ISIS) group. In addition, communist rebels also carry out their operations in the region.
In May 2017, hundreds of pro-ISIL foreign and local gunmen seized Marawi, the country’s largest Muslim city.
The Philippine military gained back the ruined city after contesting a five-month battle that killed over 1,000 people.
Other Similar Bus Attacks
In 2014 a similar attack was launched, which left at least 10 people killed and more than 30 wounded in what authorities described as a mortar bomb explosion on a bus in the southern Philippines.
The rural bus was passing near the main gate of Central Mindanao University in Maramag town, Bukidnon province, on Tuesday night when a powerful blast sent shrapnel and debris flying through the vehicle, said town safety officer Alejandro Navarro.
It was thought a mortar concealed in a bag went off in an overheard rack, Navarro said.
Dating back to 2011, two people were killed and leaving several others injured in an explosion on a bus in the Philippine capital, Manila.
Police said the blast was believed to have been caused by a bomb placed under a passenger seat in the middle of the bus.
The incident happened in the Makati business district.
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