Five people were killed and 22 others were injured when a grenade was hurled into a crowd of dancing revellers at Cambodia's annual water festival, officials said Saturday.
Three girls and two boys between the ages of nine and 16 were killed instantly as a result of the blast during celebrations late Thursday in the village of Memut about 130 kilometers east of the capital Phnom Penh.
"The people were celebrating the water festival and dancing and then there was a grenade thrown into the middle of the group, on the ground," provincial governor Chheang Am told AFP by telephone.
"It exploded and killed five children and wounded 22 others," he said.
Chheang Am said villagers wounded in the explosion had been transferred to district and provincial hospitals where they were being treated, adding that an investigation was underway to find suspects in the attack.
"According to our investigation, we believe the attack was a personal one relating to the renting of loudspeakers," he said.
The governor added that there was no apparent link to six simultaneous bombings around the same time near government buildings in northwestern Pursat province that caused no casualties or damages.
"There is no link to the other attacks that happened in Pursat province," he said. "We are ordering the police to investigate and collecting information in order to arrest the criminals and bring them to justice."
"This is a serious attack."
Police were investigating if the blasts were linked to the Cambodian Freedom Fighters (CFF), a rebel group that mounted a botched coup last November -- PHNOM PENH, (AFP)
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