ZAMBOANGA CITY—Six people were injured in a grenade explosion Wednesday night in downtown Zamboanga City.

                Senior Supt. Lurimer Detran, Zamboanga City Police Office director, said the incident took place around 6:55 p.m. in front of a hotel beside the Bureau of Fire Protection headquarters along Climaco Avenue downtown.

                Initial investigation showed that one of three men on a motorcycle lobbed a hand grenade as their motorbike sped past the hotel, according to Detran.

                He said the explosive used was an MK2 grenade, noting that the safety lever was recovered 20 meters away from the explosion site.

                Aside from the injuries caused to six people, the explosion also damaged a motorized tricycle and a motorcycle.

                “Task Force Zamboanga chief Col. Santiago Baluyot said the victims were passengers of these two vehicles that were damaged.

                The victims were rushed to the Zamboanga City Medical Center by elements of Task Force Zamboanga who rushed to the explosion site.

                Investigation is under way to determine if the explosion is a spillover of the violent incidents that recently took place in Iligan City and Lanao del Norte province.

                Three people were injured in two separate explosions last Sunday in two budget hotels in Iligan City

                The military and police have heightened security measures in this city amid the fighting in other parts of Mindanao.

                A city official disclosed that the incident took place two days after bomb-scare text messages circulated in this city.

                Last Saturday, a grenade that failed to explode was recovered in one of the movie houses located in one of the shopping malls downtown.

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