2 soldiers among 5 hurt in Maguindanao Sur grenade attack

Police Scene of the Crime Operatives and bomb disposal experts examine the blast site in front of a mosque in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao del Sur, after a grenade attack wounded five people, including two soldiers, on Saturday, July 18, 2026. — Photo courtesy of Shariff Aguak Vice Mayor Oping Ampatuan) SHARIFF AGUAK, Maguindanao del Sur — Two soldiers were among the five people wounded when unidentified men hurled a hand grenade at a passing military truck near the town’s welcome rotunda in Barangay Poblacion early Saturday, July 18, police said. Capt. Steffi Salanguit, spokesperson for the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO-BAR), said the soldiers were aboard a military KM truck bound for Isulan, Sultan Kudarat, when the suspects, riding a motorcycle, threw the grenade at the vehicle at around 6:25 a.m. Article continues after this advertisement The attackers immediately fled in an unknown direction. READ: 5 hurt in grenade attack on Day 3 of BARMM election gun ban Initial reports said the blast occurred near the town center, close to a grand mosque, on the third day of the election gun ban for the Sept. 14 Bangsamoro parliamentary elections. Shariff Aguak Mayor Akmad Ampatuan said police, firefighters, and personnel from the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office immediately responded to the scene and brought the injured to the Bangsamoro Regional Medical Center. The explosion occurred about 50 meters from the site where Ampatuan’s bulletproof vehicle was attacked with a rocket-propelled grenade on Jan. 25. The mayor escaped unharmed in that ambush, although two of his security escorts sustained minor injuries. Police and military operations later killed three suspected attackers, while another suspect, believed to have acted as a lookout, surrendered to the National Bureau of Investigation. /das Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again. Your subscription has been successful.