Philippines bus explosion injures 22

An explosion ripped through a passenger bus inside a terminal in a southern Philippine city today, slightly injuring at least 22 people.

The bus, with 21 passengers on board, had just arrived in Digos city, 600 miles south-east of Manila, when the blast rocked the back portion of the vehicle, said bus conductor Mike Bangcot.

Police Chief Inspector Casar Cabuhat said 22 people were taken to a hospital with minor injuries, mostly from glass splinters.

The victims included bus passengers and food vendors, he said.

“Our investigation is still ongoing and we can’t tell yet what type of explosive was used,” Cabuhat said.

He said police were looking at all possible angles and had no suspects yet.

The owner of the bus, the Weena bus company, has been the victim of extortion attempts by criminal gangs, but it was not immediately clear if today’s attack was linked to extortion.

Cabuhat said he was not aware of any extortion letter received by the company.

Last month, a similar explosion targeted another Weena bus, but there were no injuries.

The explosion came two days after a bomb blast at a grocery store on southern Jolo island killed nine people and wounded 20 others.

Provincial police chief Ahirun Ajirim blamed an extortion attempt by suspected al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf rebels.