Bomb kills 3, wounds 27 at hotel in the southern Philippines

[News_Editor]

Bomb kills 3, wounds 27 at hotel in the southern Philippines

2011-11-28 19:43:20 GMT+7 (ICT)

ZAMBOANGA, PHILIPPINES (BNO NEWS) -- Three people were killed on late Sunday evening when a bomb exploded inside a room at a small hotel in the southern Philippines, police said on Monday. Nearly 30 others were injured.

The attack happened at around 9.30 p.m. local time when an explosive device went off inside Room 226 on the second floor of the Atilano Pension House in Zamboanga, a city located on the island of Mindanao. Around 35 guests were at the budget hotel when it happened.

Zamboanga City police director Senior Superintendent Edwin de Ocampo said two men were found dead at the scene while a woman died upon arrival at a local hospital. One of the men killed in the explosion, which severely damaged the hotel building and vehicles parked nearby, was identified as Fidel Agias.

Health Officer Dr. Rodelin Agbulos said a total of 27 people sustained injuries and were taken to three different hospitals, but 17 of them were released within hours after receiving treatment. The 10 others remain in hospital, including an adult and a child who are in a critical condition.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but past bomb blasts in the south were usually carried out by al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf extremists. The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is a stronghold of Abu Sayyaf, a group of self-styled Islamists who have been blamed for some of the worst attacks in the Philippines.


In February 2004, a total of 116 people were killed when a bomb exploded on the SuperFerry 14 which had sailed out of Manila for Cagayan de Oro City via Bacolod City and Iloilo City. The attack, carried out by Abu Sayyaf, remains the world's deadliest terrorist attack at sea.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-11-28

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