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Koronadal city—Government security forces on Wednesday
foiled what could have been a major bombing in
Central Mindanao with the discovery of a car laden with explosives in
Surallah,
South
Cotabato.
Army
explosives and ordnance specialists defused the homemade
bomb placed in an old car by assailants believed to be
affiliated with the al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden.
Supt.
Robert Kuinisala, South Cotabato police commander, said
the bomb, made of an 81-mm and nine 61-mm mortar shells,
a 90-mm rocket, four kilos of three-inch nails, three
kilos of combined trinitrotoluene (TNT) and black
powder, a battery, timer and blasting devices, were
found inside a 1977 model Toyota car at about 5 a.m.
along the national highway in Surallah.
Witnesses said the car came from the nearby town of
Mamasapano, Maguindanao, and took the route to South
Cotabato.
Ordnance
experts said the bomb was powerful enough to level a
medium-sized community.
“Investigators are now trying to identify the bomb
carriers and their affiliations. No one has claimed
responsibility for the attempt,” Kuinisala said.
He said
the black 1977 model
Toyota
car with license plate number PCL-911 was registered to
a certain Emiliano Rellios of Bonifacio Street, San
Juan, Metro Manila.
American
troops participating in the ongoing Philippines-United
States military exercise in Central Mindanao were sent
here to help determine the bomb’s “signature.”
“This is
handiwork of terrorists group linked with Jema’ah
Islamiyah [JI],” Kuinisala said.
The JI
is affiliated to the al-Qaeda network and aims to
establish a pan-Islamic state in Southern Philippines,
Malaysia and
Southern Thailand.
The
military earlier received reports that Basit Usman, an
alleged JI member, who was said to be behind the recent
bombings in Central Mindanao, trained new recruits in
barangay Linantangan, Mamasapano, Maguindanao.
Usman is
on Washington’s list of terrorists and carries a bounty
of $50,000.
Usman is
said to be a former member of the MILF but the
secessionist group has disowned him. He is blamed for
the bomb attacks that killed eight people and wounded
dozens of others, including that in Makilala town in
North Cotabato province in October last year.
Early
this month, the
US
said it received information the bombings will likely be
attempted in this city and nearby Makilala, North
Cotabato.
The
Australian government said possible targets include
places of worship, restaurants, shopping malls, hotels,
hostels, guesthouses, bars or night clubs in major
population centers, including, but not limited to, Davao
City, Carmen, Isulan, Kidapawan, Koronadal City, Cagayan
de Oro City, General Santos City, Cotabato City, Maganoy
and Pagadian.
On June
8, an explosion ripped through a bus parked at a
terminal in Matalam, North Cotabato. The attack
seriously wounded the driver of a van parked beside the
bus and nine other people at the terminal, including a
10-year-old boy.
On May
18, a bomb exploded at the terminal of Weena Bus Co. in
Cotabato
City,
killing a five-year-old boy and wounding at least 30
other people.
The
bomb, an improvised explosive device fashioned out of an
81-mm mortar shell, was placed in a box and left beside
a store inside the terminal located on Don Rufino Alonzo
Avenue.
Police
and military forces have imposed heightened security
measures and have established checkpoints and choke
points to make it hard for bombers to transport
explosives. |
