New Year's Eve explosion hurt 22 people in GenSan

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – More than two dozen people were injured in a grenade explosion on New Year's Eve in the southern Philippines, officials said. According to authorities, the explosion occurred at a park in General Santos City late Wednesday and injured 22 people. But a local radio network, Radyo Agong, reported that at least 26 people were wounded in the attack at around 10 p.m. No individual or group has claimed responsibility for the blast. A separate military report said that a fragmentation grenade was used in the attack. Army Captain Emmanuel Garcia, of the Task Force Gensan, said an unidentified man hurled the grenade into a crowd at the park. "At least 22 people are wounded in the grenade explosion and they have been rushed to hospitals," he said. He said authorities were investigating the motive of the attack, which occurred a day after a grenade explosion at a police post in General Santos City that injured, including a police officer. An improvised bomb also exploded late Tuesday in a motorcycle-taxi near a police checkpoint, killing its driver and wounding an officer in the village of Saliao in Sultan Kudarat's Esperanza town. The improvised explosive device, assembled from 81 millimeter mortar bomb, was inside a sack full of charcoal when it went off while the policeman was inspecting the vehicle. Officials said faulty bomb assembly had triggered the explosion. - Al Jacinto, GMANews.TV