ZAMBOANGA CITY, 31 August 2005 — A firebomb exploded at a market in the southern Philippine province of North Cotabato, destroying several stalls, but no casualties were reported, officials said yesterday.
The attack late on Monday in Kabacan town occurred just a day after a firebomb exploded inside the ferry M/V Dona Ramona in Basilan island, als in the southern Philippines, injuring at least 30 people.
Officials said the firebomb that went off around 9 p.m. in the market was rigged to a thermos jug filled with gasoline and an electronic timer wired to a battery.
“There were no casualties in the bombing and we are still investigating the motive and who was behind the explosion,” regional military commander Maj. Gen. Agustin Dema-ala told Arab News.
Last week, troops foiled a bombing attempt in Kabacan town after villagers discovered an 81mm mortar bomb attached to a timer before it could explode.
No group or individual claimed responsibility for the latest bombing to hit the southern Philippines. Officials said the likeliest suspects were the Abu Sayyaf or the Jemaah Islamiyah, blamed for several terror bombings in the southern region of Mindanao during the past few years.
In the island of Basilan, 20 kilometers south of Zamboanga city, a town mayor yesterday offered a 50,000-peso ($890) reward for anyone who could provide information on those behind Sunday’s ferry bombinmg.
At least 30 people, including some children, were wounded in the explosion that hit the Do?a Ramona just as it was leaving the port of Lamitan town.
The bomb, placed near the ferry’s canteen, caused fire to the lower deck. Police said the blast was caused by an improvised explosive device (IED).
Mayor Roderick Furigay offered the bounty after a consensus with other town officials, who vowed to fight terrorism and bring justice to the victims.
Furigay appealed to residents to help the authorities by providing information on any suspicious person in their villages. “We should stay vigilant and help the authorities,” he said. The military suspect that the attack was meant to divert an ongoing pursuit operation against Abu Sayyaf leader Khaddafy Janjalani in Central Mindanao.
Washington also offered as much as $5 million bounty for the capture of known Abu Sayyaf leaders, including Janjalani, for the killing of two kidnapped US citizens in 2002 in the southern Philippines.
