Bomb Explodes, Another Found In Southern Philippines

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 8, 2008) – A homemade bomb exploded early Monday at a market area and a second explosive was disarmed in the southern Philippines, where troops are pursuing are battling Moro rebels, officials said.

Officials said there were no reports of casualties from the blast that occurred at around 4 a.m. at the entrance of main market in the town of Isulan in Sultan Kudarat province. A second bomb was also discovered and disarmed by soldiers in Tacurong City also in the province, said Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, a regional army spokesman.

“It’s good that no one was hurt or killed in the blast. We still don’t know who was behind this, but clearly this is part of a terror campaign and we appeal to the public to stay vigilant,” Ando told the Mindanao Examiner.

Ando said the homemade planted at the market’s entrance probably exploded prematurely. “The market usually opens at about five in the morning and the bomb exploded an hour earlier,” he said.

He said the second explosive was planted outside the Julsom bakery just across the Tamondong hospital in nearby Tacurong City, east of Isulan town, but the bomb was discovered before it could explode.

The bomb was assembled from a mortar head and connected to a mobile phone that was used to trigger detonation, but it apparently malfunctioned and failed to explode.

No group claimed responsibility for the bombing or to the failed attack, but Ando said Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) had used similar bombs in the past and were probably behind it.

The MILF, which is currently negotiation peace with Manila, is the country’s largest Muslim rebel group fighting for independence in the restive region on Mindanao, but the negotiations were stalled after two rebel commanders Ameril Kato and Abdurahman Macapaar led a series of deadly attacks in Mindanao.

Security forces were pursuing hundreds of rebels involved in the attacks and sporadic fighting had killed dozens of people in recent weeks and forced more than 200,000 civilians to flee their homes in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)

RP Troops Foil Bombings Of Power Pylons In Troubled South

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 6, 2008) – Philippine soldiers have foiled bomb attacks Friday on two vital power lines in the hinterlands of Mindanao, where several pylons had been toppled by rebels the past weeks.

Two bombs, assembled from mortars and rigged to an electronic timer, were discovered in two separate towers in Tacurong City in Sultan Kudarat province. One of the bomb was set to explode at 9.30 a.m. and the other at 3.30 p.m. and both had been disarmed by soldiers.

A security guard of the state-owned National Transmission Corporation discovered the bombs and informed police and military about the explosives.

No group claimed responsibility for the failed attack, but authorities have previously tagged rouge members of the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, Moro Islamic Liberation Front as behind past bombings of power lines in Mindanao.

The MILF, which is currently negotiating peace with Manila, denied allegations it was behind the bombings.

On Tuesday and Thursday, two more pylons were damaged from separate bombings in Sultan Kudarat’s President Elpidio Quirino town and a third attack on power line failed in Tacurong City after soldiers discovered a bomb before it was to explode.

Security forces have stepped up its patrol in Mindanao to thwart attempts to bomb government targets, said Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, spokesman of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division.

“We have doubled our efforts to prevent bombings of power pylons. We are doing our best to protect vital government installations,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

Ando said the attacks were aimed at targeting the local economy. “This is economic sabotage,” he said.

Last month, several pylons were also toppled in Sarangani and Lanao del Sur province, plunging many areas in Mindanao into darkness. (Mindanao Examiner)

Philippines Foils New Terror Attack

COTABATO CITY , Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 17, 2007) – Philippine security forces have disarmed Wednesday three powerful homemade bombs planted near a public square in downtown Tacurong City in Mindanao, south of Manila, officials said.

The bombs were inside a backpack left at a clothes shop when discovered by the store owner, said Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, a spokesman for the Army's 6 th Infantry Division.

"We have disarmed three 60mm mortar bombs fitted with an alarm clock. The vigilance of civilians has prevented what could have been a deadly attack by terrorists," Ando told the Mindanao Examiner.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for the foiled bombing, but previous attacks in the area had been largely blamed to the Indonesian terror group Jemaah Islamiya and its local affiliate the Abu Sayyaf which is tied to al-Qaeda.

Ando appealed to citizens to stay vigilant in the wake of new reports that terrorists may be plotting new attacks in Mindanao in southern Philippines.

Israel has banned its citizens from traveling to Mindanao because of extreme terror threats.

The foiled bombing coincided with the announcement of the Philippine military that new contingent of US soldiers are arriving anytime soon in Mindanao to replace those who were ending their tour of duty in the troubled, but mineral-rich region.

Both the Jemaah Islamiya and the Abu Sayyaf are included in the terror lists of the United States and Washington has offered up to $10 million reward for the capture of Indonesian bomb-maker Dulmatin and his companion Umar Patek, who are said to be hiding in Mindanao.

Dulmatin, the Philippine military said, was almost captured in May in the remote southern province of Tawi-Tawi, but troops did not recognize him.

However, four of his children were captured by the soldiers and later deported to Indonesia. (Mindanao Examiner)

3 Injured In New Bus Bombing In Southern Philippines

A truckload of soldiers return to a military camp in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines Wednesday July 18, 2007. A powerful bomb exploded on Wednesday inside a commuter bus in the southern Tacurong City, wounding 3 people, says regional army chief Maj. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer. (Mindanao Examiner Photo Service)

COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 18 Jul) – An improvised explosive device went off inside a commuter bus in the southern Philippines, wounding three people, officials said.

Officials said the blast occurred minutes after the bus, owned by YBL, arrived in Tacurong City in Sultan Kudarat province at around 12.30 p.m.

“Three people were injured in the blast,” Army Maj. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, commander of the 6th Infantry Division, told the Mindanao Examiner.
No group claimed responsibility for the blast, he said.

Ferrer said authorities were still investigating what type of explosive was used in the attack.

Last month, a powerful bomb exploded inside a passenger bus and killed 9 people and wounded seven more in Bansalan town in Davao del Sur province. Another bomb also went off in a bus in Cotabato City.

Police also foiled a car bombing in June in South Cotabato province in the volatile region of Mindanao, where U.S. forces are currently as part of the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines, which is helping the Filipino military defeat terrorism.

The U.S. military provides training, advice, and security assistance, and shares intelligence information with the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The United States, Canada and Britain have issued travel warnings and strongly advised their citizens not to travel to the southern part of the Philippines because of threats of terrorism and kidnappings of foreigners.

An Italian Catholic priest Giancarlo Bossi was kidnapped June 10 in Zamboanga Sibugay province by rogue Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels. (Mark Navales and Juan Magtanggol)

RP Police Detains Bombing Suspect

COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 04 Jul) – Philippine authorities detained a man accused as behind a deadly bomb attack in the restive southern region.

Police and military reports said the man was arrested on Tuesday on a village in Tacurong City, where five people had been killed in a bombing in April.

The man is being investigated for his alleged links with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Jemaah Islamiya.

The MILF, the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, is talking peace with Manila in an effort to end more than three decades of insurgency in Mindanao.

The MILF previously denied any links to terrorism and has publicly condemned the use violence. (Mark Navales)

Police Captured Suspected Bomber In Southern Philippines

Policemen escort suspected bomber, Taya Kulat, a local supporter of the Indonesian terror group, Jemaah Islamiya, in Sultan Kudarat province in southern Philippines. Filipino authorities blame the Jemaah Islamiya for the bomb attack Tuesday at a packed billiard hall in Tacurong City. Policemen are deployed in Tacurong Thursday, 10 May 2007. (Mindanao Examiner Photo Service/Mark Navales)

SULTAN KUDARAT (Mindanao Examiner / 10 May) – Philippine police captured one of four alleged bomber tagged as behind the deadly attack in Tacurong City in the southern province of Sultan Kudarat, officials said Thursday.

Provincial police chief, Superintendent Teng Tocao said the suspect, Taya Kulat, was captured after a running gun battle at a village in Kalawag town.

“He is one of those involved in the attack and we are still tracking down the others,” Tocao told the regional newspaper, the Mindanao Examiner.

Police filed criminal charges against the man, said to be a local supporter of the Indonesian terror group, Jemaah Islamiya. “We are investigating his link to the terrorist group,” Tocao said, adding, the man was captured on Wednesday.

He said policemen seized hand guns from Kulat, who was tracked down with information provided by civilians.

The explosion on Tuesday at a packed billiard hall in Tacurong killed and injured about three dozen people, according to a regional army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Julieto Ando.

Army Major General Raymundo Ferrer, commander of the 6th Infantry Division, blamed the Jemaah Islamiya for the blast.

He said security forces were hunting down a senior Jemaah Islamiya bomber, Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan, believed hiding in central Mindanao since 2003.

Zulkifli, a Malaysian citizen, also heads the Kumpulun Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM) terrorist organization, according to the U.S. Department of State.

Washington included Zulkifli to its most-wanted list and offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest. He was believed to be involved in multiple deadly bomb attacks in the Philippines and is said to be working with the local terrorist group, Abu Sayyaf.

His younger brother, Taufik bin Abdul Halim, was also implicated in the 2001 Jakarta Atrium Mall bombing, and currently is in detention in Indonesia.

Aside from Zulkifli, Philippine authorities, aided by U.S. forces, are also tracking down two other Jemaah Islamiya bombers, Dulmatin and Umar Patek, on Jolo island in the Sulu Archipelago off Mindanao region. (Mark Navales and Juan Magtanggol)

Photo: RP Police Released Sketches Of Suspected Bombers

Police Supt. Joel B. Limson, Tacurong City police chief, shows Wednesday, 09 May 2007, cartographic sketches of four suspected bombers in Tacurong City in the southern Philippine province of Sultan Kudarat. The military says as many as ten people are killed in the blast at a billiard hall on Tuesday.(Mindanao Examiner Photo Service/Mark Navales)

Terror Attack Kills 10 In Southern Philippines

MAGUINDANAO (Mindanao Examiner / 08 May) – At least three dozen people were killed and wounded in bomb attack late Tuesday afternoon in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said as many as ten people were killed and over two dozens more wounded in the blast at a packed billiard hall in Sultan Kudarat's Tacurong City.

“Initial reports said as many as ten people are killed in the bomb explosion,” a regional army spokesman, Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, told the independent regional newspaper, the Mindanao Examiner.

He said authorities were investigating the motive of the attack.

Maj. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said more soldiers were sent to secure the area.

“More than two dozens are injured in the explosion and according to our reports, the blast was from an improvised explosive device left at the billiard hall,” he said in a separate interview.

Ferrer said army explosive experts were sifting through debris to determine what type of bomb was used in the attack. Other reports suggested the bomb was assembled from a mortar rocket and probably rigged to an electronic timer.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for the blast, but suspicion fell heavily on the Indonesian terror group, Jemaah Islamiya.

“The Jemaah Islamiya could be behind the attack. It has the signature of the Jemaah Islamiya,” Ferrer said without further elaborating.

The attack occurred despite a tight police security in Tacurong City. Fresh military reports said terrorists may strike in the cities of Koronadal, General Santos, Kidapawan and Cotabato, all in the southern Philippines.

Just Sunday, soldiers detonated a homemade bomb near a police post in Tacurong after policemen discovered a package containing C4 explosive and steel pellets.

The latest attack came just a week after the United States, Canada and Australia warned their citizens against traveling to Mindanao island and the Sulu Archipelago in the southern Philippines because of heightened terror activities.

Security forces are battling members of the al-Qaeda affiliate Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya militants and Moro National Liberation Front rebels.

A grenade attack last month in North Cotabato’s Pikit town injured three people working for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Another bomb attack in Midsayap town also in North Cotabato also injured one civilian. A man was also killed after a bomb he was transporting exploded in Cotabato City in Maguindanao province near North Cotabato.

Abu Sayyaf militants also beheaded six construction workers and a fisherman they kidnapped in Parang town in Jolo island on April 15 after their employer, Jolo governor Benjamin Loong rejected a ransom demand. (Juan Magtanggol)

RP Police Foils Bomb Attack In Troubled South

COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 29 Apr) – Philippine soldiers detonated a homemade bomb Sunday in the restive North Cotabato province, south of Manila, officials said.

Officials said the bomb was left near a police post in Tacurong City, but had been discovered before it was to explode. “Soldiers detonated the bomb after police manning the post discovered the explosive,” Maj. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, told the independent regional newspaper, the Mindanao Examiner.

No group claimed responsibility for the foiled attack, said Col. Danny Garcia, the local army commander.

“We are still investigating who is behind this failed bombing attempt,” Garcia said in a separate interview. “At this point, we cannot pinpoint to any group, but we have tightened security around Tacurong.”

He said the bomb was made from C4 explosive and rigged to a timer. “It had steel pellets and some components taken from a mortar rocket that would trigger detonation,” Garcia said.

The discovery of the bomb came just a day after the United States warned its citizens against traveling to Mindanao island and the Sulu Archipelago in the southern Philippines because of heightened terror activities.

Aside from the United States, Canada an Australia also told their citizens not to travel to the troubled region, where security forces are battling members of the al-Qaeda affiliate Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya and Moro National Liberation Front rebels.

A grenade attack last week in North Cotabato’s Pikit town injured three people working for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Unidentified men tossed two grenades on the USAID field office and fled. No group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Another bomb attack last week in Midsayap town also in North Cotabato also injured one civilian. A man was also killed after a bomb he was transporting exploded in Cotabato City in Maguindanao province near North Cotabto.

Abu Sayyaf militants also beheaded six construction workers and a fisherman they kidnapped in Parang town in Jolo island in the Sulu Archipelago two weeks ago. (With a report from Mark Navales and Juan Magtanggol)