Philippine Sulu twin explosions injure 15, including 3 children
By Jocylin FC
Taiwan News, Staff Writer
2015-05-31 03:48 PM
At least 15 people including three children were wounded after two explosions rocked the neighborhood of a mosque situated in a Philippine National Police (PNP) camp on May 29.
There are 10 police officers among the victims, while five others including the three minors were civilians. The twin blasts in the remote southern island province – occurring just minutes apart – were reportedly caused by grenades.
“The first explosion took place at 7:30 p.m. near the mosque at the Camp Police Sr. Supt. Julasirim A. Kasim in Asturias, Jolo. The initial attack wounded four civilians. About 10 minutes later, another grenade was hurled by unidentified individuals near the site of the first explosion. It felled 10 policemen as a result, including a senior police officer,” described Town Mayor Hussin Amin
The number of wounded police officers led authorities to believe that the men in uniform were indeed the target of the explosions. Although no particular group has claimed responsible for the blasts, authorities believe the Al-Qaeda-linked Islamic militant group Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) is the one behind the police camp attack.
The ASG gained notoriety not only for kidnap-for ransom cases but also for bomb attacks in the past. Currently, the military estimates that the group has more or less 400 members, mostly in Basilan and Sulu.
