Three people were killed and 20 injured when a bomb exploded May 28 at the offices of USAID-supported programs housed at the Philippine military’s Edwin Andrews Air Base in Zamboanga, Mindanao. The dead included family members of Philippine military personnel waiting for a cargo flight to Manila, and children were among the injured. Edwin Andrews housed US Special Forces advisors before they were transfered to the Western Mindanao Philippine military command center, two kilometers away.
The blast came as candidates vying for posts in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) elections slated for Aug. 11 were in Zamboanga filing certificates of candidacy. It also came as US Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney was in Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur, to inspect US-supported projects in Mindanao. The dead included personnel of the Growth for Equity in Mindanao (GEM) program and affiliated Mindanao Off-Grid Renewable Energy Program (AMORE). Authorities said three have been arrested in connection with the blast, but failed to identify them. (Manila Bulletin, ABS-CBN, National Terror Alert Response Center, May 29)
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