ZAMBOANGA CITY, 19 February 2006 — A civilian was killed and more than 20 others were wounded in a bomb attack yesterday outside a military base in the southern island of Jolo, where US and Filipino troops are currently conducting joint anti-terrorism drill, officials said.
The attack targeted a karaoke bar just several meters away from the military base, where more than 100 US troops are encamped. There were no reports of US casualties, said US military spokesman Lt. Col. Mark Zimmer. “All Americans are accounted for,” he told Arab News.
US troops are restricted to the camp during the month long training, dubbed Balikatan 2006.
One radio reporter in Jolo said she counted at least 20 wounded at the local hospital and many of them had burns and fractures on their body.” The blast was so powerful that it destroyed one of the walls of the bar,” she said.
Brig. Gen. Nehemias Pajarito, the Philippine Army commander in Jolo, said one person was killed and that 22 others were wounded in the attack.
“The blast damaged the two-story bar frequented by civilians outside the base. We have prohibited our soldiers from going to those places,” he said.
Police said at least 25 people were confirmed injured in the blast and that the lone casualty was a man working as driver for the US troops participating in the drill.
No group or individual has claimed responsibility for the attack, which coincided with the start of the Balikatan 2006. Some 250 US and over 4,000 Filipino troops are participating in the drill.
Police and military suspect the Al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group could be responsible for the attack.
To the dismay of Muslim villagers in Jolo, bars have sprouted outside the base and prostitutes were reported to have moved in from Zamboanga City as soon as US troops arrived in the island, about 950 kilometers south of Manila.
Abu Sayyaf militants had previously threatened to attack the bars and prostitution joints.