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ZAMBOANGA
CITY—A
powerful bomb exploded outside the main gate of the Col.
Edwin Andrews Air Base (EAAB) that houses the 3rd Air
Division of the Air Force (PAF) in barangay Santa Maria
this city, killing two people and wounding 21 others.
The
explosion took place shortly before 10 a.m. Thursday
while the victims were gathered in the parking lot of a
building located in front of the EAAB main gate waiting
for the arrival of the PAF’s C-130 “Hercules” transport
plane to avail themselves of a free ride from this city
to Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.
Of the
two fatalities, one was declared dead on arrival by the
attending physicians at the government-owned Zamboanga
City Medical Center (ZCMC), while the second died while
being treated.
The
wounded were rushed to different hospitals.
Supt.
Jose Bayani Gucela, Western Mindanao regional police
spokesman, said an hour after the explosion, witnesses
saw suspicious men boarding a white van, which was later
flagged down by policemen at barangay Ayala, 16
kilometers away from the explosion site.
The
three were then held for investigation in connection
with the bombing.
Gucela
identified one of the men as retired Police Officer 2
Abdurasul Hajji Saban.
One of
the two fatalities was a native of Margosatubig,
Zamboanga Sibugay, while the other one was a resident of
barangay Pasonanca, north of this city.
The
local police gathered that before the explosion, some
people noticed an unattended blue bag left at the
parking lot where people stayed while waiting to be
allowed inside the EAAB to board the C-130 plane.
Witnesses told police investigators that minutes later,
they heard a loud explosion and saw people sprawled on
the pavement when black smoke caused by the explosion
cleared down.
The
explosion shattered the building’s glass panels and
damaged a passenger jeep and a motorized tricycle that
was passing by when the bomb went off. A parked car was
also damaged.
Explosives and Ordnance Demolition personnel of the
police and the military who sifted through the debris at
the explosion site said it was most likely that the bomb
was placed in the unattended blue bag by the assailants.
However,
bomb experts have yet to determine if the explosive that
was used carries the signature of the al-Qaeda-linked
Abu Sayyaf bandits, who were responsible for previous
bombings in this city.
Senior
Supt. Lurimer Detran,
Zamboanga
City
police officer in charge, said investigators are looking
into all possible motives and the real target of the
bomb attack.
Detran’s
office is working closely with the military’s Task Force
Zamboanga (TFZ) headed by Col. Darwin Guerra to identify
the bombers.
Aside
from the EAAB, the building in front of the EAAB’s main
gate also houses the offices of the United States
Assistance for International Development-funded Alliance
of Mindanao Off-grid Renewable Energy (Amore), the
Airman’s Savings and Loan Association Inc. (Amslai) and
the congressional district office of Laban Rep. Maria
Isabelle Climaco of Zamboanga City.
Traffic
flow was diverted and the
Santa Maria Road
was closed to all types of vehicles to give way to the
EOD personnel and Scene-of-the-Crime Operatives to
conduct thorough investigation.
Mayor
Celso Lobregat has immediately mobilized the concerned
local government offices to render assistance to the
victims rushed to the hospitals. |
