A series of bombings took place in the Philippine Bangsamoro region on Sunday, leading to 21 injuries including that of several soldiers.
According to the Philippines Daily Inquirer, 21 people including nine soldiers were injured after a series of explosions targeted Cotabato City, Libungan Town and Maguindanao—all places in the country’s Bangsamoro region.
A grenade attack on a military truck patrolling Cotabato City wounded nine soldiers and seven civilians, according to a military spokesperson speaking to the Inquirer. The attack took place at 6 pm and was followed by an Improvised Explosive Device (IUD) attack in the neighbouring town of Libungan, where the bomb went off at 6.12 pm and wounded five civilians—one of whom was in critical condition according to AFP.
Another blast is believed to have taken place an hour later, according to Governor Nancy Catamco. AFP reported that the attack took place in the Maguindanao, 55km from Libungan—with reports still awaited.
Military spokesperson Major Arvin Encinas said that they are not discounting the possibility that the attacks were conducted by the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) as well as by Daesh-inspired groups. "They are the only group we are confronting," he was reported as saying by the Inquirer.
The Cotabato City attacks come a day before President Rodrigo Duterte is scheduled to visit.
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The Bangsamoro region is the only Muslim-majority region in the Philippines. The region was formerly known as the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), prior to a January plebiscite that established greater powers and autonomy to the regional government.
The referendum was the outcome of peace talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Conflicts between the two had killed over 100,000 since the 1970s.
In recent years, Philippines has been embroiled in conflict with ISIS-backed terror outfits. In 2017, ISIS-backed fighters took over the city of Marawi. A five-month-long battle broke out between the militants and Philippines security forces, leading to 1.1 million people being displaced and 168 dead from the government’s side. 978 ISIS-backed fighters were killed in the battle.
