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| Southeast Asia |
| Three killed in Philippine bus bombing |
| 2013-09-21 |
| A powerful bomb blast ripped through a passenger bus late Friday and killed 3 people in Zamboanga City where two weeks of fighting between security and militant forces left over 100 soldiers and militants dead. Army officials said an improvised explosive device was left under a passenger seat and blew up inside a bus depot in the coastal town of Labuan. The bus had just returned from a daylong trip shuttling villagers to downtown Zamboanga and back. The explosion was powerful that it destroyed the roof of the bus and damaged several others parked nearby. A neighbor of two of the victims said, “It is very tragic. Those who were killed in the bus were really hard working people, especially the bus washers. We mourn their deaths." The explosion happened near a penal farm where authorities have brought dozens of captured Moro National Liberation Front militants after processing them at a police base. Hundreds of militants stormed several villages on September 9 and took nearly 200 civilians and used them as shield against security forces. Officials have said at least 175 people were freed, escaped or rescued since the violence broke out. About two dozen more are thought to be held captive by militants, who have split into several groups. |
| Posted by:ryuge |