By Xinhua,
Manila : Two people were killed while 18 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, local police said.
Two people died of severe burns after being rushed to a nearby hospital. The 18 others, who suffered minor injuries, needed further medical treatment, Chief Superintendent Jaime Caringal, Region 9 police director, told Xinhua.
Caringal said the blast occurred just as a group of reporters were 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.
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.