5 killed, 9 injured in Maguindanao blast

Five persons were killed while nine others were wounded when an explosion ripped a public market in the southern Philippine town of Shariff Aguak in Maguindanao province Friday, reports said. Maguindanao Gov. Datu Andal Ampatuan survived the blast that went off around 7:30 a.m. while his convoy was passing the market. GMA 7's Flash Report said one fatality was Kahelo Datumanong, nephew of Rep. Simeon Datumanong (2D, Maguindanao), a close ally of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Citing initial reports, Army spokesman Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro said at least two of the fatalities were members of Ampatuan's security detail who were on board a Toyota Revo (plate LDL-407). Bacarro said explosives were placed at a parked multicab vehicle and exploded as the convoy of Ampatuan was passing through the public market. "Investigators are still determing the motive of the explosion," Bacarro said. The blast came amid information received by the Presidential Security Group (PSG) that international terrorist groups were planning to launch attacks across the country, including in Manila. Police officials earlier said terrorists might employ car bombs for their upcoming offensives. Chief Supt. Ismael Rafanan, police intelligence chief, said last year that Indonesian Malaysian nationals were training Filipino extremists how to mount car bomb attacks. Following the explosion, Ampatuan met with senior military and police officials in the province to evaluate the situation and map out their plan of action. The governor has also asked for additional security men. Maguindanao provincial administrator Engr. Norie Unas told GMA 7's DZBB that Ampatuan has been the target of three other assassination attempts since 2001. The first attempt came a few weeks before the 2001 campaign period, while the next one came two days after he assumed the top provincial post in July 2004, Unas said. The third attack against Ampatuan, happened along the national highway in Shariff Aguak. On March 27, nine people were killed following an explosion in a public market in Sulu, where a number of Islamic miltants, including the Al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf, operate. -GMANews.TV