Provincial bus bombed in southern Philippines

A screenshot from the Facebook page of Maddamme Vayotzz shows an explosive expert clad in a bomb suit inspecting the Rural Transit Mindanao bus in Maguindanao's Parang town. (Best available photo)

COTABATO CITY - A bomb explosion ripped through a provincial bus on Sunday and severely wounding several passengers in the restive Muslim province of Maguindanao, reports said. 

The blast occurred in the village of Making in Parang town where the bus, operated by Rural Transit Mindanao, made a stop at a roadside eatery. The bus was on its way to Dipolog City in Zamboanga del Norte from Cotabato City in Maguindanao when the powerful explosion occurred at the rear and broke windows. 

“I saw two people, one of them was severely wounded and bloodied. I pity him. The bombing was so loud. It occurred during Ramadan,” one local witness, who recorded the scene after the blast from her mobile phone in the safety of her house nearby. 

The video – which can be accessed on this URL https://www.facebook.com/100079349389649/videos/359977136088224/ - was posted on her Facebook page and it quickly went viral. 

A series of screenshots from the Facebook page of Maddamme Vayotzz shows the aftermath of the bombing ona Rural Transit Mindanao bus in Maguindanao's Parang town. 

The two-hour video also showed explosive expert clad in a bomb suit inspecting the bus after policemen and soldiers cordoned off the busy area from civilians and motorists. No other improvised explosives were recovered from the bus and no individual or group claimed responsibility for the bombing, but several rebel groups are actively operating in the province and neighboring areas. 

On January 11, at least six people, including an infant, were also wounded when an improvised explosive went off inside a bus, operated by the Mindanao Star, in township of Aleosan in North Cotabato. The bus was travelling at the highway near the village of San Mateo when the bomb exploded. 

The 6^th Infantry Division blamed the attack on the pro-ISIS militant group called Dawlah Islamiya and killed four fighters, including their leader Norodin Hassan, during a raid on their hideout in Carmen town four days after the bombing. 

Last year, a bomb explosion also killed one civilian and wounded 7 others in a daring broad daylight attack in North Cotabato’s Tulunan town in January 27. The explosion occurred at a fruit stand in the village of Sibsib where a provincial bus was picking up passengers. The blast came a day after pro-ISIS militants detonated a roadside bomb in the town of South Upi in neighboring Maguindanao province and killed a civilian. The military blamed the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters for the bombing. (Mindanao Examiner)