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| Southeast Asia |
| 1 Dead, 12 Hurt by Philippine Bomb |
| 2002-10-20 |
| A homemade bomb exploded near a Roman Catholic church Sunday night in Zamboanga, killing one person and injuring 12. Witnesses said Sunday's bomb was concealed in either a box or a tin can and placed in a bicycle taxi. The vehicle was parked near a gate to Fort Pilar - a century-old shrine and church, which also has a park with several stalls selling food and religious items, such as candles. The Radio Mindanao Network identified the one death as a Filipino marine corporal assigned to guard the shrine's gate. He died from wounds while being taken to hospital, the report said. Although the church was packed with worshippers, the crowd was not as large as in past Sundays because of a drizzle and the threat of more deadly bombings that have caused jitters among the city's population of 600,000. If you're going to make war on infidels, church is the best place to get them. There's less chance that they'll be armed. The bombing came after twin blasts tore through two department stores last Thursday in Zamboanga, a predominantly Christian port city about 530 miles south of Manila. Those explosions killed seven people and injured more than 150. Zamboanga is, of course, chock full of Muslims, a fair percentage of which are homicidal... |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |