Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — An 11-year-old girl was killed while 32 others were injured when a blast ripped through a passenger bus parked in Zamboanga City on Friday afternoon (September 18).
The fatality was identified as a certain Fatima Imbraida. The two of the injured were in critical condition. Some of the victims were bystanders.
Initial investigation showed that an improvised explosive device (IED) went off shortly past 2 p.m. inside a Biel Transit unit. The bus came from Labuan, a village 38 kilometers away from the city proper.
Vice Mayor Cesar Ituralde said the motive behind might have been extortion after the bus company had been receiving extortion letters from a still unidentified group.
The police and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents were looking at a CCTV footage showing an individual acting suspiciously near the crime scene minutes before the explosion.
CNN Philippines’ stringer Liza Jocson contributed to this story.
