3 killed, 17 injured in southern Philippines bus blast

[News_Editor]

3 killed, 17 injured in southern Philippines bus blast

2012-04-12 15:27:36 GMT+7 (ICT)

KIDAPAWAN CITY, PHILIPPINES (BNO NEWS) -- Three people were killed on late Wednesday morning when a bomb exploded aboard a passenger bus in the southern Philippines, officials said on Thursday. More than a dozen others were injured.

The attack happened at around 10:25 a.m. local time when an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded inside a Rural Transit Bus bound for Cagayan de Oro in the municipality of Carmen in North Cotabato. The bus was pulling into the Carmen Terminal when it happened.

Benito Ramos, the Executive Director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), confirmed three women were killed in the explosion. He identified the victims as 18-year-old Rona Mae Causing, 10-year-old Gladzin Himpiso, and an unidentified third woman.

"Personnel of the Carmen Police Station upon receipt of the report immediately responded to the site and assisted in bringing the victims to the Cotabato Provincial Hospital," Ramos said. He said a total of seventeen people between the ages of 6 and 62 were injured in the blast.

A senior police official said the blast came from an IED inside baggage that was placed in the compartment area of the bus. Authorities believe extortion could be a possible motive of the attack as the bus company had previously received threats from several groups, including the Al Khobar group which is suspected of being linked to a terrorist organization in Southwest Mindanao.

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