A powerful bomb believed to have been planted by the Al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf extremists, exploded inside a bar in Zamboanga City in restive Mindanao, killing a woman cashier and wounding 10 others, police reported on Friday.
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The blast punctured the ceiling of the two-storey club and threw bar stools into the streets of Zamboanga City late yesterday evening, police spokesman Alexander Mabalot said. It was not immediately clear if extremist groups were behind the explosion.
Senior Supt. Angelito Casimiro, the city police director, said they previously received information that the Abu Sayyaf had ordered its members and recruits to “hit the R and R (rest and recreation) points of government forces in Zamboanga City”.
Local authorities said that the blast, caused by an improvised explosive device, occurred at the ground floor of the Manly Massage Parlor along San Jose Road at around 9:40 pm Thursday.
He said the attacks are in retaliation to the continuous law enforcement operations against the group in the province of Sulu.
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Mayor Beng Climaco, meanwhile, has appealed to citizens to stay calm and vigilant and report to au-thorities suspicious persons and abandoned baggage in their community.
