Philippine officials say an explosion at a night market in the hometown of the country's president has left up to 14 people dead and about 70 others wounded.
The Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte declared a 'state of lawlessness' today after suspected Abu Sayyaf extremists detonated a bomb that killed 14 people and wounded about 70 in his southern hometown.
Duterte, who inspected the scene of Friday night's attack at a night market in downtown Davao city, said his declaration that covers the southern Mindanao region did not amount to an imposition of martial law. It would allow troops to be deployed in urban centers to back up the police in setting up checkpoints and increasing patrols, he said.
An Abu Sayyaf spokesman, Abu Rami, claimed responsibility for the blast near the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Davao University and a five-star hotel, but Duterte said investigators were looking at other possible suspects, including drug syndicates, which he has targeted in a bloody crackdown.
"These are extraordinary times and I supposed that I'm authorised to allow the security forces of this country to do searches," Duterte told reporters at the scene of the attack, asking the public to cooperate and be vigilant.
"We're trying to cope up with a crisis now. There is a crisis in this country involving drugs, extrajudicial killings and there seems to be an environment of lawless violence," said Duterte, who served as mayor of Davao for years before elected to the presidency in June.
Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said the bomb appeared to have been made from a mortar round and doctors reported many of the victims had shrapnel wounds.
Witnesses initially gave conflicting accounts, according to police, with some saying that a cooking gas tank exploded at a massage section and food stalls of the night market while others suggested it may have been some kind of an explosive.
Police immediately set up more checkpoints in key roads leading to the city, a regional gateway about 980 kilometers south of Manila. Police forces in the capital also went on full alert.
TV footage showed bodies lay scattered amid plastic chairs strewn about at the scene of the blast moments after the blast, which was heard several blocks away. Ambulance vans drove to and from the area.
US National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said in a statement that local authorities in the Philippines continue to investigate the cause of the explosion, and the United States stands ready to provide assistance to the investigation.
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