Three people were killed while 17 others were injured after an improvised bomb exploded near an airbase in southern Philippine city of Zamboanga Thursday morning.
The improvised explosive device went off at around 10 a.m. (0200 GMT) near the gate of the Edwin Andrews Airbase in Zamboanga, regional police chief Jaime Caringal told Xinhua.
Reports said the shrapnel from the explosion also damaged the office of congresswoman Beng Climaco and several other premises located in front of the airbase. But there was no damage to the air base.
Three people died of severe burns after being rushed to a nearby hospital. Others suffered rather minor injuries with some already being discharged from the hospital, the police said.
The victims are relatives of air force soldiers and were awaiting to avail of free military air transport when the bomb went off.
Police also said they had detained one prime suspect and two of his companions and discovered a white Toyota van suspected of being used in the bombing.
Caringal said a group of reporters were also in Edwin Andrews airbase, waiting to board a military plane to far-flung island of Tawi-Tawi to cover the day trip of Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
"All casualties are civilians, none of the media personnel were injured," Caringal said, adding that the police is still probing the case to determine the suspects and their motive.
But Caringal said radical members of the armed rebel group MoroIslam Liberation Front and the more violent Abu Sayyaf extremist group were singled out as most probable suspects.
No group has claimed responsibility for the blast so far.
Source:Xinhua
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