Explosion outside hotel kills 14 at Davao in Philippines
aTP- Arab tourism portal News – An explosion at a night market of Davao city killed 14 people and injured at least 60 others on 2nd September, Friday. 30 people had to be hospitalized after the blast rocked the packed market in the hometown of the Philippine President, Rodrigo Duterte.
The blast took place just outside the Marco Polo hotel on the southern part of the Mindanao island, where the President was residing on Friday. But, the president was unharmed after the explosion.
The presidential spokesman Martin Andanar informed that an improvised explosive device caused the blast. He also informed that Islamic militants or drug traffickers might be responsible for the blast as there are many people, who are angry at the president and the government.
After visiting the blast site on Saturday morning, the President stated, “These are extraordinary times. We are trying to cope up with a crisis now. It’s not martial law but I am inviting now the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the military and the police to run the country in accordance with my specifications. We will treat this as a police matter about terrorism.”
The Vice Mayor of Davao and the son of the president, Paolo Duterte ordered the bars to be closed and also suggested people to go home after the blast. The entire area was cordoned off by investigators and police bomb experts. The president Mr. Duterte declared a “state of lawlessness” after the incident, which would allow the troops to be deployed in the cities for the safety of the commoners.
The fatal blast occurred in the centre of the city of Davao, near one of the top hotels of the city and a university.
A spokesman for the militant group Abu Sayyaf, Abu Rami claimed the responsibility for the explosion but the officials are investigating furthermore for other possible suspects.
The regional police chief, Manuel Guerlan informed that police placed checkpoints around the exit points of the city.
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