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KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews/25 December) — Bomb experts defused on Friday an improvised explosive recovered from a bus terminal in Kabacan, North Cotabato. Athough no one was hurt, the discovery of the bomb triggered panic among passengers of the Rural Transit Bus Company.
Supt. Joseph Semillano, chief of Kabacan PNP, said the improvised explosive device (IED) fashioned out of an 81-mm mortar was placed in a small bag and hidden in an area along Rizal Avenue in Poblacion, Kabacan, a few meters from the waiting area of the Rural Transit terminal.
Semillano said a utility worker of the terminal identified as Manuel Yabut discovered the bag while cleaning the area at around 745 a.m. on December 24, and immediately reported it to authorities.
The IED as the main charge, according to Semillano, was packed with an electrical tape and a Nokia 3110 mobile phone, which was used as triggering device, was attached to it.
At around 9 a.m., operatives of the Explosives and Ordinance Disposal Team from the Cotabato provincial police office and the Philippine Army defused the bomb.
“We’re still looking at different angles of the story and extortion is one of the possible motives,” Semillano said.
The bus line has been a target of several bomb attacks.
(Malu Cadelina-Manar/MindaNews)