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Teenagers wounded by grenade explosion southern Philippines
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-01-21 14:12

MANILA -- Two teenagers were wounded when a grenade explosion, targeted at a military camp nearby, hit an evacuation center in the southern Philippine province of Maguindanao Tuesday night, a military spokesman said on Wednesday.

Julieto Ando, spokesman of the Philippine Army's 6th Infantry Division, said about 20 to 30 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels attacked a camp at the village of Libutan in Mamasapano town. The camp is near a school that houses a number of people displaced by the continuous fighting in the south.

Ando said the rebels fired at least two rounds of M203 grenade launchers at the Army camp, one of which unluckily hit the evacuation center, injuring Momina Sangutin, 14 and his elder brother, Salamudin Sangutin, 15.

Quoting from initial information from the field, Ando said Momina sustained injuries in the left knee while Salamudin was hit in the left arm. He said the two were subsequently brought to a private clinic for prompt medical treatment.

The military launched an offensive against the rebels in August last year after some rogue MILF members attacked towns and villages in the southern region of Mindanao.

More than half a million residents have been forced to leave their home by the fighting. While many have returned to their homes as the situation have started to stabilize, many still opted to stay at the evacuation centers.