At least 12 people were killed and 24 others were wounded at a night market in President Rodrigo Duterte’s hometown in the southern Philippines, despite the region being under a security alert because of a military offensive against Abu Sayyaf militants, officials said.
The blast occurred in the centre of Davao, close to one of the city’s top hotels and a major university.
The blast occurred just before 11 pm (local time), leaving bodies strewn amid the wreckage of plastic tables and chairs on a road that had been closed to traffic for the market in the heart of Davao city.
An improvised explosive device caused the explosion, presidential spokesman Martin Andanar said, adding drug traffickers opposed to Duterte’s war on crime or Islamic militants may have been responsible.
Witnesses gave contrasting accounts, with some saying that a cooking gas tank exploded while others suggested it may have been some kind of an explosive, Police Chief Superintendent Manuel Gaerlan said.
Police set up checkpoints in key roads leading to the city, a regional gateway about 980 kilometers south of Manila.
Police forces in the capital Manila went on full alert at midnight following the deadly blast.
Duterte, who served as a longtime mayor of Davao before assuming the presidency in June, was in the region but has not issued any statement. His spokesman, Ernesto Abella, urged the public to be vigilant.
“While no one has yet claimed responsibility it is best that the populace refrain from reckless speculation and avoid crowded places. There is no cause for alarm, but it is wise to be cautious,” Abella said.
The Abu Sayyaf extremists in southern Sulu province threatened to launch an unspecified attack after the military said 30 of the gunmen were killed in a weeklong offensive.
Some commanders of the Abu Sayyaf, which is blacklisted by the United States and the Philippines as a terrorist organisation for deadly bombings, ransom kidnappings and beheadings, have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.
Davao is the biggest city in the southern Philippines, with a population of about two million people.
Image used for representation only.
