Blast rocks NoCot town: no one hurt

COTABATO CITY – Barely eight hours after an improvised bomb exploded in General Santos City that injured eight persons, another improvised explosive device (IED) was set off in the Central Mindanao region, this time inside a videoke bar in Midsayap, North Cotabato.
 
“Nobody was hurt and bomb experts are still conducting post-blast investigation,” said Senior Inspector Jumrell Amotan, Midsayap town deputy police chief.
 
Amotan said the blast occurred at around 7:15 p.m. inside Theresa’s Place Videoke Bar in Barangay Poblacion 4.
 
The videoke bar’s caretaker told police investigators that three men arrived onboard a motorcycle and ordered a one-liter bottle of soft drinks and bread.
 
A few minutes later, the three men, about 25 to 30 years old, left. The caretaker asked them why they were in a hurry and one of them said they were done. The bar has no other customers at that time.
 
As soon as the three men left, a loud explosion ripped through the videoke bar made of light materials. It was located about 50 meters away from the Midsayap police office.
 
The Midsayap bombing was preceded by an IED explosion shortly before noon Sunday on Makar junction in General Santos City that wounded eight people.

The military and police implemented a lockdown of Cotabato City following the Midsayap blast and earlier explosion in General Santos City.

Halima Satol Ibrahim, city information officer, said the lockdown was a “joint decision” of the city government of Cotabato, military and police authorities to ensure the safety of residents from lawless elements that have resorted to terrorism. (With reports from Noel Punzalan/PNA)