World | Philippines
Bomb blast near south Philippine cathedral kills 5
A bomb exploded outside a church in the southern Philippines during Sunday morning mass, killing five people and wounding eight, an army spokesman said.
- Agencies
- Published: 07:40 July 5, 2009
Manila: A bomb exploded outside a church in the southern Philippines during Sunday morning mass, killing five people and wounding eight, an army spokesman said.
Rogue Muslim rebels were suspected of placing the bomb outside the church in Cotabato City, said Colonel Jonathan Ponce.
"This is the handiwork of the rogue members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)," Ponce told reporters.
"The rebels are getting desperate and they are no longer choosing their targets. They are now attacking even places of worship."
Ponce said the crude bomb, made from a mortar shell and remotely detonated by a mobile phone, was placed near a stall selling food.
Cotabato city Mayor Muslimin Sema said up to 26 others were wounded, some of them seriously. The wounded included five soldiers who were passing by the cathedral in a van when the device exploded.
Maj. Gen. Alfredo Cayton immediately blamed the 11,500-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which has been targeted by a monthslong military offensive in nearby Maguindanao province and outlying regions.
"Nobody has the motive, the capability and the track record to carry out this terrorist attack except the lawless MILF group," Cayton told reporters.
There were no immediate reaction from the rebels, who have waged a decades-long battle for self-rule in the southern Mindanao region, homeland of minority-Muslims in this predominantly Roman Catholic nation.
Malaysian-brokered peace talks between the government and the rebels collapsed last year when a preliminary deal on an expanded Muslim autonomous region fell apart, sparking new deadly clashes that have displaced large numbers of villagers.
Cotabato city has been hit by deadly bombings in the past.
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