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ZAMBOANGA, Philippines: Suspected Muslim separatist guerrillas hurled two grenades at a town festival in the southern Philippines, leaving one person dead and 32 wounded, officials said.
The grenades were hurled almost simultaneously late Saturday at the town plaza and the town hall in Maasim town on the southern island of Mindanao as residents were celebrating the town's 37th anniversary, said local army spokesman Lieutenant Kurt Decapia.
He said the attacks may have been carried out by the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), citing intelligence reports that the rebels had originally planned to plant home-made bombs in the town.
He also noted that last year, the MILF attacked the mostly-Christian town, killing and wounding several civilians.
Provincial governor Miguel Rene Dominguez condemned the incident, saying "these acts of terror will only galvanize our resolve to protect our community and strengthen our unity. We will not be cowed into fear and submission."
There was no immediate reaction from the MILF which has been fighting to set up a separate Islamic state in the southern Philippines since 1978.
The rebel group broke a five-year ceasefire with Manila in August, 2008, after a court outlawed a proposed government agreement that would have given the insurgents virtual control over a large area in the south.
MILF fighters then pillaged entire villages and towns, displacing more than half million people in the ensuing violence.
Despite efforts to restart the talks, fighting has recently stepped up in the south with about a hundred MILF fighters killed in the past two weeks, the military says.
- AFP/yt
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