LIST: Zamboanga City bombings since 2000

MANILA, Philippines – Just 3 days after twin blasts killed at least 21 and left over 100 people injured in Jolo, Sulu, an explosion left 2 dead and 4 others injured at a mosque in Zamboanga City.

There have been at least 17 blasts in Zamboanga City since 2000. In a scan that covered 2000 to January 2019, Rappler found the earliest to be on October 28, 2001.

The city was also the setting of the 2013 Zamboanga siege, which saw a two-week armed conflict between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and rogue elements of the Moro National Liberation Front. The siege killed more than 100 people and caused the displacement of over 100,000.

October 28, 2001

At least 5 are killed and more than 40 injured in a blast along a row of eateries. The AFP tags the Abu Sayyaf as responsible for the attack.

October 2002

Explosions on October 2, 17, and 21 rock Zamboanga City. The explosions take place in front of a karaoke bar, in two department stores, and in a church.

The October 2 explosion happens outside a karaoke bar close to a military arms depot. Four people are killed and 25 others are wounded after the blast.

Days after, the explosion of two TNT bombs rocks two department stores at noon. Seven people are killed and 150 wounded.

On October 21, a bomb explodes in a candle store at Fort Pilar, a Catholic shrine in the city. A Marine is killed and 18 bystanders are injured.

Attacks may have been perpetrated by members of the Abu Sayyaf, according to Hermogenes Ebdane Jr, who was then the chief of the Philippine National Police. The police also blame the terrorist group for a bombing that took place in northern Manila that same month.

June 15, 2010

An improvised explosive device (IED) is detonated at a disco pub. This happens shortly before the start of classes. No injuries are recorded, according to a Sunstar report. The blast is also not linked to any terrorist group.

August 5, 2010

Two people are killed and 24 are injured after a blast at the Zamboanga International Airport. Fatalities are the suspected bomber and a bystander. Among the injured is the target of the explosion – then-Sulu governor Abdusakur Tan. The explosion happens a day prior to the visit of then-US ambassador Harry Thomas Jr to the city.

Years later, on March 31, 2016, suspect Addong Salapuddin surrenders to the National Bureau of Investigation in Zamboanga City.

August 16, 2012

Seven are injured after a bomb explodes in a bus coming from Pagadian City, the capital of Zamboanga del Sur. Later in the day, another explosion happens near the Al Mahdi mosque, a few barangays away. No casualties are reported in the second blast.

July 1, 2013

A grenade is thrown at a Philippine Fisheries Development Authority shuttle bus along a highway, injuring at least 5 people. The explosion is linked to extortionists from the Abu Sayyaf and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, who had been sending threats to the port manager.

November 9, 2014

A bomb squad member is wounded after twin blasts at a videoke bar. The explosions happen as the Boy Scouts National Jamboree takes place in the city.

December 29, 2014

A blast rocks downtown Zamboanga City hours after a magnitude 6.1 earthquake hits the city’s outskirts. No casualties are reported.

January 23, 2015

A bomb explodes at the parking lot of a disco bar, leaving one dead and 48 others injured. Other vehicles are set on fire after the blast, according to witnesses.

Senior Superintendent Angelito Casimiro, Zamboanga City police director at the time, says in a Sunstar report that the attack is targeted and connected to the twin blasts of November 2014. The attack is reportedly aimed at an eyewitness to the incident at the videoke bar.

April 3, 2015

Three civilians are wounded after a blast on the evening of Good Friday. A military report states that the explosion came from a vehicle parked in front of a church near the police station. A military officer eyes a drug-related angle.

July 24, 2015

An IED explodes at a massage parlor, killing one person and wounding 9 others. The motive behind the attack is not determined.

August 26, 2015

Three children and another victim, then on their way to school, sustain minor injuries after an explosion in Barangay Ayala. The motive is unknown.

September 18, 2015

A Biel Transit bus explodes upon arrival at the Labuan Terminal, killing one person and wounding 19 others.

January 30, 2019

A grenade is thrown inside a mosque, killing at least 2 and wounding 4. The attack happens as Muslim religious leaders are resting. – Rappler.com