- LAMITAN, Philippines: Army troops have safely defused a powerful bomb outside a school in Basilan province in the southern Philippines.
- A blast destroyed a lodging house and another explosive was found near a hotel earlier in the same province.
Army Col. Alex Macario says Abu Sayyaf extremists most likely left the bomb, which was hidden in a biscuit can. It was found by troops Sunday in front of a school compound in Basilan’s Lamitan town.
Macario says the military has tightened security after a bomb destroyed a lodging house in the Christian town in predominantly Muslim Basilan late Saturday. No injuries were reported.
He says another bomb was found near a hotel in Basilan’s capital city of Isabela later.
Washington has blacklisted the Abu Sayyaf as a terrorist group.
