Suspected Muslim guerrillas detonated a bomb near a Roman Catholic cathedral in the southern Philippines yesterday, killing at least five people and wounding 46.
Pope Benedict XVI condemned the attack.
The bomb exploded outside the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Cotabato City as churchgoers were attending Mass. Two people were killed instantly in the attack and three others, including a militiaman, later died in hospital, military officials said.
Among the wounded were six soldiers and militiamen who were in an army van that passed by the cathedral when the device, fashioned from a mortar round, exploded, Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin Sema said.
The improvised explosive, which was set off remotely by mobile phone, was hidden near a row of food stalls selling roasted pig, Major General Alfredo Cayton said.
Police arrested one man seen using a phone during the explosion. He was carrying three identification cards with different names, Sema said.
Cathedral guard Nestor Luna said shrapnel flew in all directions, inflicting wounds on his head, arms and feet.
“I wanted to help the wounded, but I felt dizzy and saw my white uniform soaked in blood. Somebody helped me walk away,” Luna said by telephone from the Cotabato Regional Medical Center. “Whoever did this should know that they hit so many innocent civilians.”
At the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI deplored the bomb attack.
“While I pray to God for the victims of this ignoble gesture, I raise my voice to condemn yet again the recourse to violence, which is never a worthwhile way to solve existing problems,” Benedict told pilgrims in St Peter’s Square.
Chief nurse Norma Reyes said at least seven of the wounded were in critical condition and needed surgery.
TV footage showed four wounded soldiers sitting dazed on the sidewalk and a militiaman lying unconscious, face down on the seat of the shrapnel-damaged van.
Two bodies lay sprawled near the sidewalk, while a stunned woman limped out of a food stall, blood dripping from her foot. Soldiers helped the wounded into ambulances with sirens wailing.
Army troops with assault rifles surrounded the cathedral and cordoned off nearby streets, footage showed.
Cayton immediately blamed the 11,500-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which has been targeted by a months-long 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 group],” Cayton said.
Rebel spokesman Eid Kabalu denied his group was involved and condemned the bombing. He said the rebels would not do anything to foment a religious war.
Military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Romero Brawner said investigators were trying to determine if the attackers targeted the military van.
“They will hit any place where civilians congregate. They have no regard for life,” Brawner said.
A similar bomb went off on a roadside in Datu Piang Township in nearby Maguindanao late on Saturday, wounding three people in an attack believed to have also been staged by the rebels, Brawner said.
RISK REMAINS: An official said that with the US presidential elections so close, it is unclear if China would hold war games or keep its reaction to angry words The Ministry of National Defense said it was “on alert” as it detected a Chinese aircraft carrier group to Taiwan’s south yesterday amid concerns in Taiwan about the possibility of a new round of Chinese war games. The ministry said in a statement that a Chinese navy group led by the carrier Liaoning had entered waters near the Bashi Channel, which connects the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean and separates Taiwan from the Philippines. It said the carrier group was expected to enter the Western Pacific. The military is keeping a close watch on developments and “exercising an
FIVE-YEAR WINDOW? A defense institute CEO said a timeline for a potential Chinese invasion was based on expected ‘tough measures’ when Xi Jinping seeks a new term Most Taiwanese are willing to defend the nation against a Chinese attack, but the majority believe Beijing is unlikely to invade within the next five years, a poll showed yesterday. The poll carried out last month was commissioned by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, a Taipei-based think tank, and released ahead of Double Ten National Day today, when President William Lai (賴清德) is to deliver a speech. China maintains a near-daily military presence around Taiwan and has held three rounds of war games in the past two years. CIA Director William Burns last year said that Chinese President Xi Jinping
RESILIENCE: Once the system is operational, there would be no need to worry about the risks posed by disasters or other emergencies on communication systems, an official said Taiwan would have 24-hour access to low Earth orbit satellites by the end of this month through service provided by Eutelsat OneWeb as part of the nation’s effort to enhance signal resilience, a Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) official said yesterday. Earlier this year the Ministry of Digital Affairs, which partnered with Chunghwa Telecom on a two-year project to boost signal resilience throughout the nation, said it reached a milestone when it made contact with OneWeb’s satellites half of the time. It expects to have the capability to maintain constant contact with the satellites and have nationwide coverage by the end
REACTION TO LAI: A former US official said William Lai took a step toward stability with his National Day speech and the question was how Beijing would respond US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday warned China against taking any “provocative” action on Taiwan after Beijing’s reaction to President William Lai’s (賴清德) speech on Double Ten National Day on Thursday. Blinken, speaking in Laos after an ASEAN East Asia Summit, called the speech by Lai, in which he vowed to “resist annexation,” a “regular exercise.” “China should not use it in any fashion as a pretext for provocative actions,” Blinken told reporters. “On the contrary, we want to reinforce — and many other countries want to reinforce — the imperative of preserving the status quo, and neither party taking any
RSS