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Blast mars 2nd year of Maguindanao massacre


(Updated 8:09 p.m.) An early morning blast marred the second anniversary of the Maguindanao massacre, five kilometers from the site where the brutal murders occurred. Two other bombs were found near the site. Maguindanao police head Superintendent Marcelo Pintac cited initial reports indicating the blast occurred near a gas station shortly before 6 a.m. in Ampatuan town. "We are still in the area. But initially there was no report of fatalities. We are still investigating the incident," Pintac said in an interview on dzBB radio, adding that the blast was some five kilometers away from a monument built in memory of the massacre victims. Armed Forces Eastern Mindanao Command spokesman Col. Leopoldo Galon, meanwhile, said military bomb experts and K-9 teams recovered two improvised explosive devices hours before the program to commemorate the massacre.

The first bomb, made of 81 mm mortar round, was found 5:35 a.m. while the other, made of 105 mm howitzer round, was recovered an hour after. He said the two bombs were found during paneling operation as part of the commemoration. “The IEDs found on site are meant to disrupt the event," said Galon. The program was attended by Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo and Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu, who lost his wife and two sisters in the massacre. Armed Forces spokesman Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos said the bombs were found about three kilometers from the massacre site. When asked if there had been sightings of men acting suspiciously in the area before the blast, Pintac said there was none. He declined to comment on the cause of the blast, saying police teams were still investigating it. At least 58 people, 32 of them journalists, were murdered in Ampatuan town on Nov. 23, 2009. The incident sparked international outrage. — LBG/KBK, GMA News
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