By Abu Anis

February 3, 2010 - A soldier died and eight others were wounded in a landmine explosion in Basilan province before noon Tuesday, February 2, report said.

The casualty was identified as Corporal Bryan Ansing of the 32nd infantry battalion of the Philippine Army.

The soldiers were heading to Maluso town from Sumisip on board a six by six armored truck when a landmine suddenly went off.

The blast caused the truck to turn turtle and resulted to the wounding of eight others.

Another report said there were two bombs that exploded, which wounded three civilian supporters of a local candidate for mayor of Sumisip town, identified as Boy Hataman.

The report said Boy Hataman is the son of Partylist congressman and now candidate for governor of Basilan, Mujiv Hataman.

Hataman used to be with the rejectionist faction of the National Democratic Front (NDF) but decided to surface after the group decided to hold peace talks with the Philippine government.

The Jose Maria Sison-led NDF considered the rejectionist group as a collaborator of government for adopting not only a reformist line but also collaborating with the enemy.

The injured civilians were Ronnie Hataman, Teng Taalil and Imran Abdalul, all residents of Look Bait village in Sumisip. They were brought to a hospital in Isabela City, the capital of Basilan province.

The victims were on the way to Buli-Buli village when the vehicle they were riding tripped on a landmine upon reaching the village of Guiong.

Hadji Hassan Panangka, the driver of the vehicle owned by Hataman, escaped unhurt.