DAVAO CITY – A grenade exploded Wednesday night in front of a community defense center of the 11th Regional Community Defense Group in Tagum City, Davao del Norte.
Maj. Randolph Cabangbang, spokesman of the Armed Forces Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom), said the grenade was thrown at the 1102nd community defense center in Barangay Mankilam at around 8:30 p.m., or a few minutes after the duty officer noticed two men and a woman on board a single motorcycle suspiciously traversing the road in front of the outpost.
Cabangbang said no one was hurt in the explosion, which he blamed on New People’s Army rebels operating in the northern part of the region.
He said the explosion could be an NPA’s diversionary tactic from the intensified military operations in Laak, Compostela Valley.
“The rebels are trying to get the military’s attention away from Compostela Valley and shift it to Tagum City,” he said. – Edith Regalado