Police: 1 hurt in roadside bombing in NCotabato

At least one passenger was reported injured in a roadside bombing in Kabacan town in North Cotabato early Monday morning, police said. Kabacan police chief Senior Superintendent Joseph Semillano said the incident occurred at 6:55 a.m. as a Rural Transit bus passed by Kayaga village. "Nagkaroon ng roadside bombing sa Brgy. Kayaga, Kabacan malapit dumaan ang Rural Transit bus. Wala naman, minor damage sa Rural Transit at isang pasahero na medyo gasgas lang," Semillano said in an interview on dzBB radio. The explosion was the third in the province since July. In July, an explosion occurred in front of the Commission on Audit office while the second one was in August when an improvised explosive device exploded in front of the National Irrigation Administration in Kidapawan City. Target of explosion In the same radio interview, Semillano said their initial investigation showed the explosives were timed to explode when the bus passed by the area. Semillano said they believe the bus was the target of the explosion, noting this was the fifth explosion targeting a Rural Transit bus in the province. For now, he said they are not discounting the possibility that extortionists were behind the incident. "We are still looking for connections between this morning's bombing and previous incidents involving Rural Transit buses in the province," he said in Filipino. He also noted there had been previous roadside bombings targeting the bus firm in Maguindanao province. When asked if they already have suspects in mind, he said, "wala pa, iniimbestigahan pa natin (none so far, we're still investigating)." — with Malu Manar/RSJ, GMA News