Author:
Publication: CNN News
Date: October 20, 2002
URL: http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/southeast/10/20/philippine.blast/index.html
Explosives packed inside a bicycle
frame detonated Sunday outside a Roman Catholic shrine in the Southern
Philippines city of Zamboanga, killing a Philippine marine and wounding
16 people, police said.
Two 13-year-olds and a 1-year-old
were among the wounded who were taken to the hospital, police said. Others
were believed to be vendors selling items near the open-air chapel. A Mass
had just ended when the explosion occurred about 8 p.m. (8 a.m EDT).
"This is definitely an act of terror,"
Mayor Clara Lobregat said. "It's horrible."
Authorities said that a 34-year-old
man who was taken to the hospital may have been driving the bicycle cab
and that they planned to question him. Police said explosive charges were
found inside the bike's frame.
No one has claimed responsibility
for the blast. It was the third bombing in the predominantly Christian
city of Zamboanga since Thursday when two explosions in the central shopping
district killed seven people and wounded 160.
Heavy rain began falling shortly
after Sunday's blast, hindering the investigation.
The shrine in Fort Pilar, built
by the Spaniards in the 1700s, is the city's most revered Christian site.
About a half hour after the first
explosion, police received a report about a second blast, but when they
dispatched a bomb squad, it turned out to be a hoax.
Witnesses told police that before
the explosion they saw a man ride a bicycle cab with a plastic bag hanging
from it to the front of the chapel.
They said the man bought a candle
and asked a vendor at a stall to watch the bicycle -- presumably so he
could light the candle as an offering inside the shrine.
Military officials said Thursday's
attacks appeared to be the work of the Abu Sayyaf, which has ties to Osama
bin Laden's terrorist network. The officials noted that the makeup of the
bombs were consistent with devices used in other attacks by the Muslim
extremist group.
Friday night, a bomb exploded on
a crowded bus outside Manila. That blast killed two people and wounded
at least 19 others. No one has claimed responsibility for the blast, but
one government official blamed the bombing on terrorists. The capital city
was placed on a heightened security alert.
(CNN's Correspondent Marga Ortigas
contributed to this report.)
