6 dead, dozens hurt in Cagayan de Oro explosion

(Updated 6:15 a.m.)  At least six people were killed while dozens were injured in an explosion outside a bistro near a mall in Cagayan de Oro City before midnight Friday.

 

Police said three of the fatalities were killed on the spot while two were declared dead on arrival at a hospital, radio dzBB reported early Saturday.

 

The report said the incident occurred at 11:10 p.m. outside a bistro at Rosario Arcade near the Limketkai mall.

 

It said one of the fatalities had been initially identified as Antonio Paredes.

 

A separate dzBB report said police Scene of the Crime Operations personnel are still determining the type of explosive in the incident.

 

Police are still looking into the motive behind the explosion.

 

Friday's explosion came nearly a month after some foreign governments, including the United States, issued a travel warning on Sulu and Mindanao.

 

The US State Department's Travel Warning issued July 5 advised US citizens to defer nonessential travel to Sulu, "due to the high threat of kidnapping of international travelers and violence linked to insurgency and terrorism there."

 

"US citizens should continue to exercise extreme caution if traveling to the island of Mindanao in the Southern Philippines," it added.  — ELR, GMA News