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| Southeast Asia |
| 3 hurt in Cubao bombing |
| 2005-01-01 |
| AMID heightened alert and tight security, unidentified persons managed to trigger a bomb at the busy Cubao commercial district in Quezon City on New Year's Eve. A report by Central Police District investigators said the bomb was placed in a concrete flower box in front of the Philtrust Bank at Opulent Building, 628 Edsa, corner Gen. Roxas Avenue. The bank was just across Farmer's Plaza, a popular shopping center, and along a key sidewalk leading to Aurora Boulevard. Because of the location of the bomb, it was fortunate that only three persons were hurt, one seriously. Police reported that the explosion occurred at 7:25 p.m. and created a 10-meter wide and four-inch hole on the flower box. Alma Olesco, 23, of Barangay Paltok, Quezon City; Joy Lachica, 23, of Sta. Mesa, Manila; and Lorenzo Reyes Jr., 31, driver, of Karuhatan, Valenzuela, were passing by when the bomb went off. Reyes sustained second-degree burns, while Olesco and Lachica only suffered minor injuries, according to police. They were treated at the East Avenue Medical Center. The explosion also shattered the glass doors and windows of the bank and those of an adjacent travel agency office. CPD director Senior Supt. Nicasio Radovan said "It was intentional but we're still determining the motive and the people responsible." Initial investigation showed that TNT, a common ingredient of dynamites, was used in the bomb. "The Explosive and Ordnance Division is still looking for fragments such as batteries and blasting caps," Radovan said. A week earlier, on Christmas Eve, police in Manila defused another bomb planted inside a passenger bus. The bomb in Manila was also built with TNT. Police explosives experts said the bomb was similar to those built by alleged al Qaeda member Ramsey Yousef and those made by the Abu Sayyaf. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |