Police released cartographic drawings of suspects in twin bombings in Iligan City on December 18 that killed two people and wounded at least four dozens more.
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 21, 2008) – An improvised explosive was discovered Sunday in the southern Filipino city of Iligan, where two people were killed in recent twin bombings blamed by the authorities on Moro rebels fighting for independence in the troubled region of Mindanao.
The bomb, assembled from 81mm mortar, was covered in papaya, when it was found by scavengers at around 10 a.m. Police and military bomb experts quickly disarmed the explosive.
No groups or individual claimed ownership of the bomb, but security officials said the Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels were behind the foiled attack and the twin bombings Thursday on two shopping areas that killed two persons and wounded at least four dozens more.
On Friday, security forces also recovered an improvised explosive hours after President Gloria Arroyo visited the bombing victims in Iligan City. The bomb was also assembled from 81mm mortar and concealed in a hollowed papaya and put inside a net bag and left at the Delecta Coffee and Bakeshop near the bombed area.
The bomb was discovered at around 4 p.m. by an employee and reported the matter to the police. The bag was left by two men who had a snack at the coffee shop.
Police released the sketches of three men, believed to be the bombers.
The discovery of the bombs coincided with fierce fighting between army troops and rebels in the town of El Salvador in Lanao del Norte province. Three soldiers were injured in the fighting, said Col. Benito de Leon, commander of the 104th Infantry Brigade.
De Leon said a still undetermined number of rebels were either killed or wounded in the clash in the hinterland village of Calimudan. The fighting lasted an hour. “Three of my soldiers were wounded in the fighting,” he said.
He said the clash erupted after patrolling soldiers were fired upon by about four dozen rebels. Sporadic clashes continue after peace talks between Manila and the MILF collapsed in August when the two sides failed to sign the Muslim ancestral domain agreement.
The deal would have granted more than four million Muslims their own homeland in the southern Philippines. The accord was unconstitutional, according to the Supreme Court. (With a report from Merlyn Manos)
No groups or individual claimed ownership of the bomb, but security officials said the Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels were behind the foiled attack and the twin bombings Thursday on two shopping areas that killed two persons and wounded at least four dozens more.
On Friday, security forces also recovered an improvised explosive hours after President Gloria Arroyo visited the bombing victims in Iligan City. The bomb was also assembled from 81mm mortar and concealed in a hollowed papaya and put inside a net bag and left at the Delecta Coffee and Bakeshop near the bombed area.
The bomb was discovered at around 4 p.m. by an employee and reported the matter to the police. The bag was left by two men who had a snack at the coffee shop.
Police released the sketches of three men, believed to be the bombers.
The discovery of the bombs coincided with fierce fighting between army troops and rebels in the town of El Salvador in Lanao del Norte province. Three soldiers were injured in the fighting, said Col. Benito de Leon, commander of the 104th Infantry Brigade.
De Leon said a still undetermined number of rebels were either killed or wounded in the clash in the hinterland village of Calimudan. The fighting lasted an hour. “Three of my soldiers were wounded in the fighting,” he said.
He said the clash erupted after patrolling soldiers were fired upon by about four dozen rebels. Sporadic clashes continue after peace talks between Manila and the MILF collapsed in August when the two sides failed to sign the Muslim ancestral domain agreement.
The deal would have granted more than four million Muslims their own homeland in the southern Philippines. The accord was unconstitutional, according to the Supreme Court. (With a report from Merlyn Manos)
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