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COTABATO CITY (MindaNews/03 April) – Police on Thursday recovered explosives which they suspected were meant for another bomb attack in the city in time for the Holy Week.
The explosives, a fragmentation grenade and an improvised bomb, were found near a government hospital and a hotel.
Supt. Rolen Balquin, Cotabato City police chief, said civilians alerted the police and soldiers about a hand grenade at a roadside along Sinsuat Avenue, near Al-Nor Hotel.
Responding police bomb experts safely recovered the grenade which Balquin described as UK-72 type.
While searching the vicinity, police found a bag containing an improvised explosive device across the street, specifically beside the concrete fence of the Cotabato Regional and Medical Center, also along Sinsuat Avenue.
“The IED was fashioned from 60 mm mortar,” Balquin said. “The bombers could have been forced to abandon the IED in the area due the presence of police and soldiers nearby.”
He said a high level alert status had been imposed in the city since March 26 in preparation for the observance of Holy Week.
He refused to say who could be behind the suspected bombing attempt. (Ferdinandh Cabrera/MindaNews)
