Cop injured in Basilan grenade blast

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Police are pursuing a suspect behind a grenade attack that injured a policeman in Isabela City, Basilan province, on Sunday night.

Lt. Col. Parson Asadil, Isabela City police chief, identified the victim as Pat. Aldimar Salahuddin of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion-9 (RMFB-9), who was on duty at the Community Police Action Center (COMPAC) in Barangay Sunrise when the explosion occurred around 9:45 p.m.

Salahuddin was inside the COMPAC when the attacker threw a fragmentation grenade, Asadil said. The explosion was captured on a closed-circuit television camera.

Salahuddin was immediately taken to a hospital, where doctors declared him in stable condition.

Police explosive ordnance personnel recovered a safety lever from the grenade at the scene, but authorities have yet to determine the identity of the attacker and the motive behind the assault.

The RMFB-9 is a combat unit under Police Regional Office-9, often deployed across the Zamboanga Peninsula as an augmentation force.