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Bomb misfires, wounds rebels and young girl

A crude bomb exploded prematurely in the southern Philippines, wounding a seven-year-old girl, another passer-by and two suspected Muslim rebels who allegedly carried the device, officials said yesterday.

The suspects were on a motorcycle when the bomb, made from an 81mm mortar shell, accidentally went off late on Thursday in front of a restaurant in Shariff Aguak town in Maguindanao Province — scene of sporadic clashes between army troops and rebels, the military said.

The seven-year-old girl and a woman were wounded by shrapnel and taken to a hospital, said military spokesman Major Randolph Cabangbang. The two would-be bombers were also hurt and placed in police custody while an investigation continued, he said.

The province is a stronghold of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels, who have been fighting for self-rule in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation’s south for decades.

Fresh violence erupted two months ago when the Supreme Court blocked the signing of a proposed accord on an expanded Muslim autonomous region, prompting three rebel commanders to go on a deadly rampage in several predominantly Christian communities.

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has ordered the arrest of the commanders and suspended Malaysian-brokered peace talks with the rebel group. More than 100 civilians have been killed and about 375,000 displaced in the fighting.

In the days before Thursday’s explosion, government troops had disarmed three other homemade bombs at a bus depot in Kabacan town in neighboring North Cotabato Province. Army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Julieto Ando blamed the rebels for planting the bombs.

The rebels did not comment immediately but in the past have denied such accusations.

Residents in nearby Shariff Kabunsuan Province, meanwhile, were awakened early yesterday by a series of powerful explosions. The military said that a fire, possibly caused by a defective cannon shell, triggered explosives in an ammunition dump inside an army camp, but there were no casualties.

Military investigators ruled out sabotage in the blaze that destroyed the depot just before dawn, officials said.

The fire, which lasted nearly two hours, ignited mortar ammunition stored inside the facility and set off a series of blasts, triggering panic among the public wary of attacks from Muslim separatist rebels, officials said.

An initial investigation showed the fire might have been started by “exposure of white phosporous charges” that created sparks, military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Ernesto Torres said in Manila.

“Sabotage is not apparent,” he said.

“The investigation is still ongoing,” he said, adding that the facility was heavily secured and is located in between two hills as a safety precaution in any event of accidental explosions.
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