Philippines bus blast claims 5 lives
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Tuesday, September 02, 2008
At least five people are killed and 21 others seriously injured in a powerful explosion at a bus terminal in the southern Philippines.
Superintendent Francisco Villaroman, the regional police intelligence officer blamed the extortionists for the Monday blast that occurred inside a parked bus owned by Metro Shuttle Company.
An official from the company said last month the group named Al Khobar, which is composed mostly of foreign Muslim separatists, had demanded $11,100 plus a $1,100 monthly payment in extortion money, threatening attacks if it was not paid.
On July 23, after the management refused to pay the demanded money, the extortionists bombed a bus in Digos, killing one person and wounding 32 others.
The blast came as the government forces launched military operations last month against Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters on the opposite side of the main southern region of Mindanao.
Officials had warned the public to be watchful of possible attacks by the separatists, who are on the run from the military offensive.
The fighting has left at least 49 civilians dead and more than 300,000 people displaced in five provinces in Mindanao.