Philippines: Duterte home city attack blamed on Abu Sayyaf
LONDON. KAZINFORM The Abu Sayyaf militant group was responsible for a bomb attack in the home city of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte which killed at least 14 people, the government has said.
Dozens were wounded in the blast at a market in the southern city of Davao.
Mr Duterte - who was in Davao at the time of the blast but was not near the market - has declared a "state of lawlessness" following the explosion.
This allows troops to be based in cities to assist the police.
National Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said that Abu Sayyaf wanted to retaliate after suffering heavy casualties on its stronghold of Jolo island about 900km from Davao.
"We have predicted this - and warned our troops accordingly - but the enemy is adept at using the democratic space granted by our constitution to move around freely and unimpeded to sow terror," Mr Lorenzana said in a statement.
A presidential spokesman said investigators had found shrapnel from a mortar-based improvised explosive device (IED) at the scene.
Police in the capital Manila are on high alert following the deadly blast.
At least 60 people were injured and 30 were taken to hospital.
The explosion took place outside the Marco Polo hotel in an area frequently visited by Mr Duterte.
Read more at BBC