Philippine troops defuse bus bomb
Philippine troops defused a powerful bomb found in a packed bus after the US Embassy warned that terrorists might carry out attacks.
The bomb – with steel fragments for deadlier effect – was hidden in a backpack and found in a bus where it was hastily abandoned by two men late yesterday in southern Maguindanao’s Talitay town, said regional army spokesman Lt. Col. Julieto Ando.
Panicking passengers grabbed the bag and hurled it outside the bus, which stopped at a terminal to take more passengers.
Police and army experts later defused the bomb, which was attached to a timer and batteries but was not yet set to explode, Ando said.
A police investigation was under way to determine whether the foiled bombing was the handiwork of al-Qaida-linked militants, or linked to lingering political wrangling following the May 14 congressional and local elections.
The volatile Maguindanao region, home to Muslim guerrillas and political warlords, was hit by bombings and gun attacks due to intense political rivalries during the balloting.
