Motorcycle explodes near military checkpoint in southern Philippines

Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-05 19:11:27|Editor: xuxin
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MANILA, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- A motorcycle exploded on Tuesday near a military checkpoint manned by soldiers in Talayan town in southern Philippine Maguindanao province, a Philippine military official said.

Maj. Arvin Encinas, spokesperson of the Philippine Army's 6th Infantry Division, said no one was killed or injured in the explosion that happened around 12 at noon some 100 meters from a military checkpoint in Tambuan village.

"It was on the way to Talayan and when he saw the checkpoint, he stopped, parked the motorcycle on the roadside," he said.

He said the driver abandoned the motorcycle that exploded shortly after and fled. The identity of the driver was not known, he added.

Encinas said a team from the Army's explosive and ordnance disposal team is conducting a post-blast investigation to determine the cause of the explosion.

The incident happened amid statements by Philippine authorities, including Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, that suicide bombing is now becoming a trend in Philippine attacks.

The Philippine government blamed the Jan. 27 twin blasts at a church in Jolo in the southern Philippines on an unidentified suicide couple. They were reportedly aided by the Abu Sayyaf extremists, a group based in the remote island provinces of Sulu and Basilan.

On July 31 last year, a van loaded with powerful bombs exploded at a military checkpoint in Lamitan, a city in Basilan province. At least 11 people were killed, including a soldier and five militiamen, in that "suicide bombing" that authorities said may have been hatched by a man allied with the Abu Sayyaf group.

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