Grenade blast rocks N. Cotabato town

COTABATO CITY  ,Philippines – A grenade explosion rocked a North Cotabato town Thursday night, police said yesterday.

No one was reported killed or injured in the grenade explosion in Lower Paatan area in Kabacan town, but the incident triggered panic in the area.

Investigators said a lone suspect hurled a fragmentation grenade at the yard of barangay councilor Marodjin Bautista.

The grenade explosion preceded the deactivation of an improvised explosive device (IED) at the municipal plaza of Midsayap town.

Police, however, said the IED, fashioned from a 60 mm mortar projectile, was only meant to scare villagers in Midsayap since it has no priming mechanism that can set it off.