• An explosion caused by a homemade bomb aboard a bus claimed one passenger and injured ten others.
• Officials believe the incident may have been an attempt to extort money from victims.
• The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, a relatively tiny rebel organization, had been held responsible for similar bombings in the past.

An explosion caused by a homemade bomb aboard a bus claimed the life of one passenger and injured ten others in a city in the southern Philippines on Sunday.

Officials believe the incident may have been an attempt to extort money from the victims of the attack.

According to the police, the device went off in the back of the vehicle just before noon in the city of Tacurong, which is located in the province of Sultan Kudarat.

The bus, which was carrying an unknown number of passengers, was on its way to a transportation terminal in the city.

Military and police officials have stated that investigators are working to determine whether or not the perpetrators of the attack were members of the same armed group that had carried out similar bombings in previous years in order to extort money from the Yellow Bus Line, which operates in key southern cities.

The regional army commander, Major General Roy Galido, stated that the extortion texts were being received on a consistent basis by the bus company. According to Galido, the military and the police have been collaborating with the proprietors of the bus company in order to apprehend the extortionists, who may have become angry since the bus firm refused to pay off.

The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, a relatively tiny rebel organization that has declared its allegiance to the Daesh group, had been held responsible for similar bombings of buses in the past by the police.

The group severed its ties with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front many years ago when the latter party entered into peace talks with the government and accepted an offer of Muslim autonomy in a region that encompassed five provinces and was located in the south of a country that is predominately Roman Catholic.

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