Mayor, guests killed in blast in the south

A bomb blamed on militants killed a town mayor and 12 others in the southern Philippines yesterday but the government played down the chances of a nationwide wave of Christmas Eve blasts.

A town mayor, a councillor and 11 party guests were killed in the blast that occurred during a party in a residential compound of a prominent political family in the south yesterday, a senior military officer said.

Mayor Saudie Ampatuan of Datu Piang in Cotabato, town councillor Rodolfo Wahab and two unidentified guests died instantly when the bomb planted outside the mayor's house exploded in Datu Piang at 10.45 am, said Major Julieto Ando, spokesman of the army's 6th infantry division in Maguindanao province.

The explosion occurred when the two friends were walking in the garden during a party celebration. The mayor's group had just arrived from a mosque.

A dozen others were seriously injured in the incident. They were taken to a nearby hospital, Ando said, adding those who were injured were being monitored round the clock.

"The bomb was so powerful that the explosion was heard in the town's business district," Ando said.

The bomb used in the attack was assembled from an 81-mm mortar shell fitted with a detonator that triggered the explosion outside, said Undersecretary Zamsamin Ampatuan, of the office of the Muslim affairs.

"Bodies were scattered in the street," said one resident. "There was stampede in the neighbourhood. Others simply picked up the fallen bodies and loaded them into cars."

Blaming the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) for the attack, Ando said, "There has been a long grudge between the Ampatuan family and the MILF."

But MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said, "Many of those who were killed were relatives of MILF members."

"We deny involvement in the attack," Kabalu reiterated. "We are not killers. We don't kill people, much more Mayor Saudie Ampatuan. He was our friend."

Political opponents of the Ampatuan family could be behind the incident, Kabalu explained
"The Ampatuans have figured in many troubles with their political opponents, so who else would want to harm them but their political rivals," Kabalu added.

Earlier, five people were killed during a shootout between the Ampatuans and the Adalin family in Cotabato City. The mayor's brother, Hoffer Ampatuan, was shot dead in a clash in a nightclub.

Their father, provincial Governor Andal Ampatuan, condemned the incident, but did not name any suspect.

The political family had earlier called for increased military presence to prevent more MILF attacks in the south.