Grenade blast kills 3, injures 11 in southern Philippines

The Associated Press ,  Manila   |  Thu, 07/03/2008 4:46 PM  |  World

Suspected communist guerrillas hurled a grenade in front of a bakeshop that refused to pay extortion demands in the southern Philippines, killing three people and injuring 11 others, the
military and police said.

The pre-dawn blast ripped the Park n Go bakeshop in Compostela Valley's Nabunturan township, where communist rebels, extortion gangs and other armed groups operate.

Authorities suspect that New People's Army rebels were behind the attack, which took place after the guerrillas allegedly failed in their attempts to collect what they call "revolutionary taxes" from the business owner, army Maj. Armand Rico said.

NPA rebels have given extortion letters to nearly all the businesses in the area, Rico added.

The rebels could not be immediately contacted for comment.

The township police chief, Roderico Roy, said five suspected rebels on board two motorcycles lobbed the grenade from a street corner fronting the bakeshop.

Some of the injured pointed out the assailants to responding policemen, who failed to catch up with the attackers as they fled on motorcycles.

Rico said the rebel activity in urban areas could be a tactic to get the military to divert forces from continuing operations against the group in nearby mountainous areas.

On Monday, suspected communist hit men killed two soldiers in the same township while they were eating in a public market food stall.

Nabunturan, capital of the gold mining Compostela Valley province, lies about 520 miles (840 kilometers ) southeast of Manila.

Recent clashes in the region between government troops and rebels have left at least 15 guerrillas and two policemen dead, while 15 rebels have been captured.

The Maoist rebels, blacklisted by Washington as terrorists, have become more active in recent months, attacking remote military and police outposts to seize badly needed weapons.

Peace negotiations stalled in 2004 after the rebels accused the government of instigating their inclusion on U.S. and European Union terrorist lists. Norway, which brokered the talks, has been trying to revive the negotiations.(**)

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.