Suspected couriers killed after bombs prematurely explode

NORTH COTABATO, Philippines - Two suspected couriers of a home-made bomb were killed past 6 p.m. Tuesday in Pikit, North Cotabato when the explosive they were to bring somewhere exploded prematurely.

Capt. Jo-Ann Petinglay, public affairs chief of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said the two men, who were killed on the spot, were riding a motorcycle together carrying a box which exploded while they were driving through a stretch of the Quezon Street in the town proper of Pikit.

“By all indications, the two men were to bring the improvised explosive device somewhere,” Petinglay said.

Pikit is the gateway to the 220,000-hectare Liguasan Delta, a known haven of extortion gangs and bigger groups identified with the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

Petinglay said Army intelligence operatives are now helping the Pikit municipal police determine the exact identities of the two men and their group affiliation.