Pregnant mother killed, 2 kids hurt in explosion in Maguindanao

MAGUINDANAO --- A pregnant woman was killed while two children were hurt in an explosion that rocked a highland farming village in Datu Hoffer town Tuesday.

The 21-year-old Rosita Kenendi, who belonged to the non-Moro ethnic Teduray community, died on the spot from blast injuries.

Talks are spreading around purporting that a mortar projectile fired from a distance landed near Kenendi’s house in  Barangay Tuayan in Datu Hofer and went off, killing her instantly.

Soldiers and members of the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters are locked in a showdown since Sunday in mountain ranges around.

Both sides figured in a series of gunfights last Monday in nearby Barangay Ahan in Guindulungan, forcing more than a hundred Teduray families to evacuate to safer areas.

In a statement Wednesday, the Maguindanao provincial police said probers are still investigating on the blast that ripped through Barangay Tuayan Tuesday.

Police Brig. Gen. Eden Ugale of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region has directed the Maguindanao provincial police and the Datu Hoffer municipal police to cooperate in probing on the explosion.

One of Kenendi's two children hurt in the blast is now confined in the Maguindanao Provincial Hospital.

The other child only had superficial abrasions in the left foot, according to community leaders.

Major Gen. Juvymax Uy, commander of the Army’s 6^th Infantry Division, said Wednesday he has ordered their units in Datu Hoffer and adjoining towns to help the police put closure on the explosion that resulted in the death of Kenendi.

“We can’t conclude based only on insinuations, or allegations. We have to initiate a thorough investigation on the incident,” Uy said.

Uy said their troops are running after BIFF forces in upland areas in Maguindanao province whose leaders are wanted for deadly acts of terror.