ZAMBOANGA CITY, 11 July 2003 — Three people were killed and 25 others wounded in a powerful bomb explosion yesterday on a crowded market in the southern Philippine town of Koronadal, officials said.
Children watching a video game were among the victims in the latest attack to hit the troubled island of Mindanao, said provincial police chief Supt. Romeo Rufino said. It was the second attack in a span of two months in Koronadal, in South Cotabato province, about 980 kilometers (600 miles) south of Manila.
Dozens of civilians were killed and wounded in a bomb attack on May 10 in the same Koronadal market.
A witness, Henry Araneta, said one woman was decapitated by the powerful blast. He said the bomb exploded at about 3 p.m. from under a pile of used clothings, destroying many stalls.
“The woman’s body was dismembered. I can see debris littered in every corner and I have learned that the bomb was planted on a stall selling used clothes,” Araneta told the radio network DZRH.
He said among those dead were a 12-year old girl, whose head was severely injured.
Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero, armed forces spokesman, said soldiers, backed by armored vehicles, were sent to secure the market and to search for more explosives. “Troops, backed by K9 dogs, were searching for bombs,” he said.
The Philippine Army said the bomb was the same type used by separatist Muslim rebels in various parts of Mindanao. “It’s the same type of explosives used by rebels in central Mindanao,” said army spokesman Lt. Col. Jose Kakilala, without further elaborating.
Philippine military chief Gen. Narciso Abaya has condemned the attack and appealed to the public to stay vigilant. “We condemned this attack that targeted innocent civilians. We all should stay vigilant,” Abaya said.
No group has claimed responsibility for the latest bombing, but the attack came barely two days after the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) warned that fighting could erupt in the southern Philippines if Manila fails to resume peace talks with rebels.
“War can resume anytime if the peace talks between the MILF and GRP will not resume soon,” a senior rebel leader Gordon Saifullah was quoted as saying.
But MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu assured the public that the group had nothing to do with the latest blast.
“We highly condemn this act. This is entirely unacceptable to the MILF,” Kabalu told a radio station.
He said the MILF has no reason to do something that would only further stall its peace talks with the government.
Authorities have linked the MILF to the spate of bombings in the southern Philippines that left nearly 100 people dead since early this year.
Rebel leaders have denied involvement in terrorism.
It was unknown if the smaller but more violent Abu Sayyaf group was connected to the bombing, but troops were pursuing rebel leader Khadaffy Janjalani and about 30 followers in Palimbang town in Sultan Kudarat province, where they have been spotted last week by villagers.
Janjalani’s group has escaped a military offensive in the southern island of Jolo in April and resurfaced in the province, the military said.
Col. Fredesvindo Covarrubias, commander of the military’s 4th Civil Relations Group (CRG), said radio stations in Koronadal town were flooded with phone calls from angry residents condemning the attack.
“People are calling different radio stations there and condemning the attack,” he told reporters.
