COTABATO, Philippines, March 15 (AFP) - Bombings aboard two buses in the southern Philippines have revived concerns of heightened hostilities from a Muslim group striving for independence despite the peace talks it has opened with the government.
At least 11 people were injured when bombs exploded on two buses of the Weena Bus Lines on Wednesday. One went off in the southern town of Matalam, injuring four people and the second in the adjacent city of Kidapawan, wounding seven, police said.
Provincial police director Superintendent Alex Paul Monteagudo said the latest attacks may be part of extortion attempts against the bus firm by groups linked to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) or could be part of its broader destabilization scheme.
Civil-military operations chief Major Julieto Ando said only the MILF had the organization to set off two bombs in such a manner.
In Manila, military spokesman Colonel Rafael Romero said "There are indications that the suspects belong to the same group responsible for the bombing of the buses aboard a ferryboat in Ozamiz City last February 25."
He was referring to the worst bombing incident, aboard three buses on a ferry off the Mindanao port of Ozamiz on February 25, which killed 45 people. The MILF was blamed for the incident but the group denied responsibility.
MILF spokesman Ghazali Jaafar also denied his group was behind the latest bombings, saying, "These are the handiwork of extortionists and we condemn the attack against non-combatants."
He cited a police report that two of the injured are Muslims and said, "The MILF do not engage in terrorist acts victimizing Muslims."
Jaafar said his group was conducting its own investigation into the attacks.
The blasts were the latest in a series of bombings and attempted bombings of public transport in the southern Philippines in the past few weeks.
In reaction to the bombings, regional military chief Major General Gregorio Camiling said he was sending explosives experts to bus terminals in the Mindanao provinces of North Cotabato, Maguindanao and Davao to help guard against such incidents.
The head of the government peace panel in talks with the MILF, retired general Edgardo Batenga said an "independent fact-finding committee and quick response team" would look into the incidents.
Asked if the bombings would affect the talks, Batenga said, "We do not even know if this was done by the MILF."
The MILF is a 15,000-member group attempting to set up a separate Islamic state in the southern third of the Philippine archipelago over the past 21 years.
In early March, the MILF and the government ended the second round of formal peace talks. The next round is yet to be scheduled.
