COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 4, 2009) – Army soldiers disarmed Wednesday an improvised explosive device planted near market in Pikit town in North Cotabato province in the southern Philippines, officials said.
Although no group clamed responsibility for the foiled bombing, the military quickly blamed the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), saying, the rebel group was desperate to avenge the deaths of its fighters in recent clashes with troops in Mindanao.
The crude bomb was made from ammonium nitrate rigged to a battery and a cellular phone.
“This IED, recovered through intensified intelligence monitoring, is designed as retaliation by the MILF due to their recent debales in North Kabuntalan (town) wherein eight rebels were killed,” Army Lt. Col. Jonathan Ponce, spokesman for the 6th Infantry Division, told the Mindanao Examiner.
Ponce was referring to the fighting on Monday that left eight rebels dead which the MILF strongly denied. The MILF called the military report as propaganda.
The MILF is the country’s largest Muslim rebel group which is fighting for self-determination in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)
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