Powerful explosion in Philippines nightclub kills one, wounds nine others
The attack took place in the southern Philippines which has long been wracked by violence
A powerful explosion has killed one person and wounded nine others after it tore through a nightclub in the strife-torn southern Philippine city Zamboanga, police said on Friday.
The blast punctured the ceiling of the two-storey club and threw bar stools into the streets late on Thursday evening, according to police spokesman Alexander Mabalot.
The club's cashier was killed. Six female bar staff and three male patrons were wounded and brought to hospital for treatment, Mabalot told Agence France Presse.
Investigators sifted through debris searching for bomb fragments but concluded that it was not yet immediately clear of who were responsible for the attack.
"Our city is under constant threat from terrorist and criminal groups," Mabalot said.
The port city of Zamboanga lies on the southwestern tip of Mindanao, the Philippines' main southern island, just a few hours by boat from island bailiwicks of al-Qaeda-linked extremists.
In January, one person was killed while 48 others were injured after a parked car exploded in the city's commercial centre, an attack authorities blamed on the Abu Sayyaf group.
The southern Philippines has long been wracked by violence carried out by Muslim separatist guerrillas, al-Qaeda-linked extremists and extortion gangs.
Also Read
-
Three Philippine soldiers killed in Abu Sayyaf landmine attack
The military convoy of three vehicles was travelling on the southern island of Jolo to secure a road project Asia -
Swiss man held by Philippine Islamist group ‘slit throat’ to escape
The Abu Sayyaf has been blamed for the worst terror attacks in Philippine history Asia -
Rare glimpses into the lives of Abu Sayyaf captors
How deeply drenched they are in their ignorance; knowing nothing but the rules of the jungle in which they live World
