PHILIPPINES: BOMB EXPLOSION AT MANILA AIRPORT

Описание: (4 Jun 2000) Tagalog/Eng/Nat
XFA
A bomb exploded early on Sunday outside the arrival area at Manila's international airport.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

The device went off outside a public toilet, digging a crater in the sidewalk and covering the area with broken glass and debris.

Police say two men in a vehicle which sped away from the area have been arrested.

Police forces at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila were put on red alert after the explosion outside the airport's main terminal building early on Sunday morning.

A local SWAT team was immediately deployed to secure the area.

Investigators are busy searching for clues to determine who could be behind the blast which occurred in a public toilet at the area where arriving passengers are met by relatives or picked up by taxis.

So far police have found no signs of shrapnel, indicating that the bomb was not intended to kill or injure large numbers of people.

Those nearest the bomb when it went off were left reeling by the blast.

SOUNDBITE: (Tagalog)
"It was very strong. (Q: What did you do?) We all went down to check out the area and saw that there was damage near this comfort room."
SUPER CAPTION: Arnel Ola, Airport security guard

Sniffer dogs are now helping police look for clues around the explosion site.

Authorities are still trying to determine what kind of explosive was used to make the bomb.

SOUNDBITE: (Tagalog)
"At this time, we cannot establish yet what type of explosive was used, so we are now conducting the post-blast investigation."
SUPER CAPTION: Colonel Ed Gatumbato, Airport Chief of Police

A string of recent explosions in Manila and other parts of the country have been blamed by police on Muslim rebels who are under attack by the military in the southern Philippines.

Twenty-six Muslims were arrested last week and charged with involvement in bomb blasts at two Manila shopping malls that killed one person and injured at least 24 others.

The military has overrun more than a dozen camps of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the past month.

A separate, smaller Muslim rebel group, the Abu Sayyaf, is holding 21 mostly foreign hostages on the remote island of Jolo.

On Saturday, a grenade exploded outside a Catholic cathedral in Jolo, causing no injuries and little damage, police said.

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