Roadside Bomb Blast Kills 2 Seabees, Filipino Soldier In Philippines

September 29, 2009 1:45 p.m. EST

Manila, Philippines (AHN) - Two American Seabees and a Filipino marine were killed Tuesday when the Humvee they were riding hit a roadside bomb in southern Philippines. Two Filipino soldiers were also wounded in the blast.

Officials in Sulu province identified the U.S. servicemen as Staff Sergeant Jack Martin and Sergeant First Class Christopher Shaw. The two, escorted by the Filipino soldiers, were helping supervise the construction of an elementary school in Jolo island when they were killed at 8:45 a.m. in Indanan town.

The Philippine military is investigating the incident to identify those responsible for the blast.

There are no suspects but the province is the stronghold of the notorious Abu Sayyaf militants, who have ties with the terrorist group Al-Qaeda.