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)
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)
No comments:
Post a Comment