Three killed, 23 injured in Philippines bus bombing

A BOMB ripped through a bus in suburban Manila yesterday, killing at least three people and injuring 23 others.

The attack came just hours after a grenade blast in the Filipino capital’s financial district and a day after two deadly bombings in the south.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bus blast, but officials have said the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf group was the most likely suspect for yesterday’s bombs in Zamboanga city that killed seven people and injured more than 150.

The bus explosion took place at 10pm on one of the capital’s main thoroughfares in Quezon City, despite tightened security following the earlier attacks.

“I was sleeping, then there was a very loud explosion,” teenage student Merlyn Villareal, who was on the bus but was not injured, said as she fought back tears.

“There was chaos, and I was pinned down. I was kicked around and found myself outside the bus.”

The explosion in the back of the blue Golden Highway company bus ripped off its roof and part of its sides and sent debris flying 20-30 yards.

Two hours later, workers had still not managed to retrieve one badly mangled body from the vehicle.

“This is the handiwork of people with evil minds,” national police operations chief Vidal Querol said.

Napoleon Castro, a Quezon City police official, said officials believed the person who brought the bomb on board the bus was among the dead.

Mr Querol said there were no immediate suspects and that investigators were gathering fragments from the bomb to analyse.

National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said the way bombing was carried out “is very similar” to the December 30, 2000, simultaneous bomb attacks in Manila that killed 22 people.

“The only conclusion we can make is that we should be on the alert and that the public should help,” Mr Golez said. He said top government officials will meet today to assess the situation.

The country, already jittery, was put further on edge when a grenade exploded in Manila’s financial district early yesterday.

The grenade caused no injuries and slight damage to one vehicle. A second unexploded grenade was found nearby.

officials said they believed that explosion was unrelated to terrorism.

Earlier yesterday, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo visited the Zamboanga bomb sites, saying the bomb attacks have gone from “bad to worse”.