ZAMBOANGA CITY, 11 August 2005 — At least 16 people were injured in two bomb attacks in the southern Philippine port city of Zamboanga two days after a controversial election for new leaders of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
The first bomb, planted under a parked mini-van in downtown Zamboanga, exploded around 7.20 p.m., injuring four people. The powerful blast destroyed the van completely and damaged two small buildings nearby, officials said.
Bomb experts were sifting through the debris, searching for clues on what kind of explosives were used in the attacks, when second explosion ripped through the second floor of another building just 50 meters away from the main police headquarters in the busy business district.
At least a dozen people were wounded in the blast, but independent sources said the number of casualties could be more.
The blast tore through the second floor that houses the St. Anne’s budget motel and damaged a branch of the popular fastfood chain Chowking and several smaller shops.
Paramedics rescued trapped and wounded motel guests from the second floor. The facade of the building was almost destroyed. Shattered glass and twisted metals and debris littered the streets.
The shock waves from the explosions destroyed display windows of several shops around the blast scenes. Fear gripped many people who were rushing home at the time of the explosions.
Some 100 soldiers and policemen, backed by armored vehicles, secured downtown Zamboanga until security officials declared it was safe.
No group claimed responsibility for the blasts and investigators were trying to determine the identity and motive of the attackers, said Senior Superintendent Jose Bayani Gucela, Zamboanga’s deputy police chief.
“We are looking into the involvement of the Abu Sayyaf in the two bombings. The public should be vigilant for future attacks,” one police officer said, referring to the extremist group blamed a series of kidnappings and bomb attacks in the southern Philippines over the past years.
Zamboanga City, which lies 860 kilometers (530 miles) south of Manila, is a bustling seaport that has been hit by deadly bombings in the past and continues to receive threats from Muslim militants.
Last week, security forces in city arrested an Abu Sayyaf bomb-maker Alex Alvarez, blamed for the series of bombings since 2002 that killed dozens of people, including a US soldier participating in an anti-terror training with Filipino troops.
Authorities suspect the attacks were in retaliation for his arrest.
Officials also would not discount the possibility that disgruntled members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) could be involved.
The MNLF was the largest Muslim armed group fighting for self-rule in the southern Philippines until it signed a peace agreement with Manila in September 1996.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s government, however, withdrew support from feuding MNLF leaders who were seeking re-election in the gubernatorial and legislative polls held on Monday, batting instead for the more popular candidates belonging to some of the most influential clans in Mindanao.
Arroyo’s move prompted the MNLF candidates, including incumbent Gov. Parouk Hussin, to pull out of the race, with a veiled threat to abandon the peace agreement.
