BIFF blamed for roadside bomb blast in Maguindanao

COTABATO CITY – A roadside bomb exploded Monday morning in Upi, Maguindanao, hurting no one, police said.

Police Inspector Erwin Tabora, Upi police chief, said the explosion took place around 7:30 a.m. along the section of the highway in Kilometer 13, Barangay Kibleg of the municipality.

“No one was hurt in the incident as the bomb seemingly erupted prematurely,” said in an interview over a local radio station. He said the bombing attempt could have been intended for either military or police convoys frequently passing by the area.

Tabora said the bomb try bore the signature style of the Islamic State-inspired Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), which, in the past, had launched similar attacks against the military and police personnel in the area.

On March 23 this year, two separate bomb attacks also rocked the municipality where three persons, including a policeman, were hurt.

The first bomb went off near the site of a basketball game at a public school in Barangay Borongotan, where many people were watching. Injured were spectators Jonathan Lingatong and Allan De Guzman, who were nearest to where the bomb was planted.

The second explosion injured Police Officer 1 Marjun Lahay-lahay, driver of a police personnel vehicle responding to the first blast. (PNA)