Bomb Attack Foiled In Southern Philippines

COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 04 Jun) – Philippine authorities on Monday doubled its security in the restive southern region of Mindanao following a foiled bombing of a packed commuter bus in Maguindanao province.

“We have taken extra efforts to ensure the safety of the public. More soldiers are deployed to help police guard public areas,” Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, spokesman of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, told the independent regional newspaper, The Mindanao Examiner.

The official said soldiers disarmed a homemade bomb planted in the bus late Sunday. The bomb, he said, was rigged to an electronic timer that would trigger detonation. “We still do not know who was behind the foiled bombing,” he said.

Ando said the bomb was discovered by the bus driver after he made a stop in the town of Datu Andal to pick up passengers. It was discovered after the bus driver found a wire protruding from the bag and told the police about the find.

“The bomb is assembled from gun powder and nails and batteries and wires. We are just lucky that the bus driver is vigilant,” Ando said.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for the foiled bombing, but terrorist groups such as the Abu Sayyaf and the Indonesian Jemaah Islamiya and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels are actively operating in the war-torn province.

Just last week, the United States Embassy in Manila warned its citizens not to travel to Mindanao because of possible terror attacks.

“The Embassy has information that terrorists may be planning to carry out bombings at bus terminals and public market places,” it said.

“U.S. citizens should exercise extreme caution in central Mindanao. U. S. citizens living and working in central Mindanao are urged to reassess their personal security and to keep a low profile, and should avoid public gathering places,” it added.

Terror attacks in Mindanao last month killed at least 11 people and wounded more than 100 others and Filipino authorities blamed the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya in the latest bombings.

In 2004, the Abu Sayyaf bombed a ferry off the Manila Bay and killed more than 100 passengers. Washington listed the Abu Sayyaf and the Jemaah Islamiya as foreign terrorist organizations and offered as much as ten million dollars for the capture of their leaders. (Mark Navales)