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Blast rocks Zamboanga airbase: 2 dead, 18 hurt


(Updated 12:35 p.m.) MANILA, Philippines - Death toll from the explosion near the Edwin Andrews Airbase in Zamboanga City Thursday morning rose to two, while the number of those wounded in the incident was placed at 18. Colonel Darwin Guerra, commander of the military's Task Force Zamboanga, said two were pronounced dead on arrival at a Zamboanga hospital. Guerra also noted that of the 18 people wounded in the blast, one remains in serious condition. But according to Senior Superintendent Lurimer Detran, Zamboanga City acting police chief, only one person was killed while 10 others were injured in the explosion. In a radio interview with dzBB radio, Detran identified the fatality as Ayesa Dumaguis, who was pronounced dead on arrival at the the Zamboanga City Medical Center. "We have 11 casualties, one of the casualties has expired," Detran said, adding that the 10 wounded victims remain confined in different hospitals in the city. A separate dzBB report said two of the injured victims are employees of Zamboanga Rep. Ma. Isabel Climaco, whose office is located very near to the blast site. However, Climaco said in an earlier interview that she does not believe she was the target of the explosion. For his part, Guerra said the explosion occurred only "a few meters away from the Gate 1 of Edwin Andrews Air Base," adding that the victims were chance passengers awaiting for the arrival of a C-130 aircraft. Guerra - who described the explosion as "an act of terrorism" - noted that no military personnel was among the casualties. In the radio interview, Detran said authorities are still to determine the cause of the explosion which occurred around 10 a.m. "We are still conducting post-blast investigation on the site," Detran said. He earlier said most of the casualties were civilians staying just outside the Edwin Andrews Airbase in Zamboanga City. Detran said initial investigation showed that an improvised explosive device was used in the blast, although the motives behind the explosion have yet to be established. No groups have owned up to the incident as of posting time. Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police (PNP) Region 9 said it will conduct a comparative analysis of some of the debris from the blast site to determine the perpetrators behind the explosion. Region 9 head Dir. Jaime Caringal said they want to see the "signature" of the bombing to help pinpoint what group was responsible for the blast.- GMANews.TV
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