Airport blast heightens new tension in Manila<\/p>\n
MANILA (Reuters): A bomb blast rocked the Philippines'
\ninternational airport in Manila on Sunday, damaging a building
\nand heightening tension in a city gripped by fear of attacks from
\nMoro militants.<\/p>\n
There were no casualties from the explosion, which occurred
\nalong a driveway about 15 meters from the main terminal building,
\npolice said.<\/p>\n
The blast took place some two weeks after two Manila shopping
\nmalls were bombed by alleged separatists and was the fifth in a
\nmonth to hit the capital of 10 million people.<\/p>\n
The airport bomb was the third blast to occur in the country
\nwithin 12 hours.<\/p>\n
One person was killed and four were wounded when a bomb went
\noff before dawn on Sunday in a bus terminal in southern Iligan
\ncity, while a grenade exploded last Saturday night at the Mount
\nCarmel Catholic cathedral on Jolo island, further south. No one
\nwas hurt in the church blast.<\/p>\n
No groups have claimed responsibility.<\/p>\n
The bombings in the capital and the flare-up of separatist
\nviolence in the southern islands have posed the biggest security
\nchallenge to President Joseph Estrada in his two years in office.<\/p>\n
They have also heightened concern among Manila residents on
\nthe eve of the reopening of the school classes on Monday after
\nthe summer break.<\/p>\n
Police have said public places such as schools and churches
\nare possible targets of extremist attacks.<\/p>\n
The airport blast damaged a women's toilet and shattered glass
\nand aluminum panels in an airport extension building where
\narriving passengers wait. There were no flight disruptions.<\/p>\n
Investigators said they believed the bomb made of gunpowder
\npacked in an aluminum container was tossed from a utility van
\nonto the roadside outside the terminal building.<\/p>\n
The two men sped through a red light and bumped a passenger
\nbus before escaping, they said. An artist's sketch of the van
\ndriver showed a man in his 20s.<\/p>\n
The bombings come amid a growing insurgency in the south of
\nthe country and a long-running drama in which Abu Sayyaf
\nseparatist rebels have been holding 21 mostly foreign hostages
\nfor 43 days on southern Jolo island.<\/p>\n
Government forces have also been engaged in heavy fighting
\nwith the main separatist group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
\n(MILF), on the main southern island of Mindanao, 800 km south of
\nthe capital.<\/p>\n
Airport manager Antonio Gana downplayed the explosion, saying
\nit could be the work of \"a prankster\" who wanted to create panic.
\n\"I don't think it's related to the Mindanao conflict,\" he told
\nreporters.<\/p>\n
Police had initially blamed right-wing extremists for the
\nManila mall bombings but later said they had arrested 26
\nmilitants for involvement, charging them with murder.<\/p>\n
One person was killed and dozens injured in the mall attacks
\non May 17 and May 21.<\/p>\n
In two other attacks in the capital last month, a park was
\nbombed while the national police headquarters was hit by
\ngrenades.<\/p>\n
In another incident in Manila early on Sunday, a fire of still
\nunknown cause razed a building at the military headquarters.<\/p>\n
On Jolo, where the Abu Sayyaf guerrillas are holding their 21
\nhostages, tension also mounted when a grenade exploded at the
\nentrance to the Catholic Cathedral last Saturday night. The
\ncathedral is being renovated and nobody was inside at the time.<\/p>\n
Government negotiators said they hoped to resume talks with
\nthe rebels by Wednesday to discuss the release of the hostages.<\/p>\n
Chief government negotiator Roberto Aventajado said the rebels
\nhad not demanded ransom. Manila newspapers said they were asking
\nfor US$1.0 million for each hostage.<\/p>\n
The hostages -- nine Malaysians, three Germans, two French
\nnationals, two South Africans, two Finns, two Filipinos and a
\nLebanese -- were snatched from a Malaysian resort on April 23.<\/p>",
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