Twin Blasts Rock Philippine Capital Manila, Two Dead

This is the second blast in the Quiapo area of the city in a week.

(Photo: Google Maps)

Two explosions in the Philippine capital, Manila, on Saturday killed at least two people and injured four others, police and witnesses said.

An initial blast occurred around 6.00 pm (local time) near a mosque in Quiapo, one of the older parts of Manila where there are big slums, a police report said. That blast killed two and injured four, according to the report.

A second explosion occurred in the same area around 8.30 pm. The second explosion did not cause major damage to any of the shops or other buildings in the street, reports said. But it appeared to injure a policeman who was inspecting the body of one of the victims of the first blast, according to witnesses.

Another explosion in Quiapo on 29 April, which occurred as Southeast Asian leaders were meeting for a summit, injured 14 people.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the 29 April explosion, but police insisted it was not a terrorist attack, nor was it related in any way to the gathering of political leaders. They said people with a personal grievance used a pipe bomb in that blast.

Police did not immediately give any explanation for Saturday’s explosions.

Militants who have pledged allegiance to ISIS are based in the southern Philippines, more than 800 km from Manila. Those militants mainly operate in the south, although they have been blamed for terrorists attacks in Manila.

(With inputs from PTI.)