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Car Bomb Kills 10 In Philippines

Philippine President-elect Rodrigo Duterte speaks during a conference with businessmen in Davao city, southern Philippines June 21, 2016. REUTERS/Lean Daval Jr/File Photo

Militants linked to the Abu Sayyaf terror group struck a military checkpoint with a car bomb in the southern Philippines Tuesday, leaving at least 10 people dead.

Philippines Army Lieutenant Colonel Jonas Templo said an improvised explosive was detonated in the early hours of the morning, in the Sitio Maganda neighborhood of Lamitan, a city in Basilan province.

Basilan Governor Jim Salliman said at least five others were wounded by the attack, which used a van and targeted a checkpoint manned by a Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit (CAFGU) — a paramilitary contingent which included military and civilians.

Salliman said the Armed Forces of the Philippines told him Abu Sayyaf was responsible for the blast.

Mindanao the Philippines’ southernmost major island, on which Basilan sits is home to several Islamist insurgent groups, including Abu Sayyaf, which has been blamed for a number of attacks on civilians and Philippine government troops, as well as the kidnapping of several foreign nationals.

Abu Sayyaf alongside the Maute group, another Mindanao-based terror organization was responsible for the invasion and occupation of Marawi, the country’s biggest Muslim-majority city, in 2016. Abu Sayyaf Basilan was led by militant Isnilon Hapilon until his death in the siege of Marawi. The group pledged allegiance to ISIS in 2014.