Bombing kills 1, injures 6 more in South RP

Photos sent to the independent regional newspaper The Mindanao Examiner show the aftermath of a powerful bomb explosion Saturday, December 5, 2009 destroyed a small building and damaged the municipal police station of Jolo in Sulu province in the southern Philippines. The attack, blamed on the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group, killed a municipal employee and injured 6 policemen.

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / December 5, 2009) – A powerful bomb explosion early Saturday killed one person and wounded six policemen in the southern Philippine province of Sulu where security forces are battling al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group.

The bombing in the capital town of Jolo severely damaged the main police headquarters and a US military-funded building used in peace projects in the province. “The attack occurred at dawn and one municipal worker was killed and six policemen are also wounded,” said Chief Inspector Usman Pingay, the Jolo police commander.

He said the police are still investigating the bombing and the motive of the attack. “We are still investigating the blast and the type of explosive used in the bombing,” Pingay said.

Pingay said no group claimed responsibility for the attack, but previous bombings in Sulu were blamed to the Abu Sayyaf and Moro rebels. “The Abu Sayyaf could be behind this, we still don’t know, but this group was blamed for the past attacks,” he said.

Last month, a government soldier was wounded in clashes with suspected Abu Sayyaf militants in Sulu. The fighting erupted after troops foiled an attempt by militants to bomb a newly repaired bridge, twice bombed, in the town of Indanan.

The bridge connects the town to other areas in the province and is frequently used by the military in the deployment of soldiers fighting the Abu Sayyaf and Moro rebels.

Militants also bombed the compound of the Catholic church in Jolo town this year and previously threatened to kidnap and behead priests and nuns in Sulu after accusing them of propagating Christianity in the largely Muslim province.

The Abu Sayyaf had killed a Catholic bishop, Benjamin de Jesus, in 2003 in a daring attack outside the Our lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral in Jolo, about 950 kilometers southeast of Manila where the Apostolic Vicariate of Jolo is located.

Sporadic clashes in Sulu since September had killed dozens of gunmen and soldiers, including two members of the US Special Forces, after the military launched attacks against the Abu Sayyaf and Moro National Liberation Front rebels during the Eid Fit’r, one of the most important Muslim celebrations after the holy month of Ramadan.

US troops are deployed in Sulu since 2006 and helping the military defeat terrorism.

The rebels who were followers of former MNLF chieftain Nur Misuari declared a holy war or jihad against the military for disrespecting the Eid celebration. (Mindanao Examiner)

US troops escape blast in Jolo

Undated photos show US troops in the southern Philippine province of Sulu. A blast hit a wharf in the capital town of Jolo where US troops are unloading equipment from a boat on Monday, September 14, 2009. (Midnanao Examiner Photo)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 15, 2009) – An explosion hit a wharf in the southern Philippine town of Jolo while US soldiers were unloading equipment from a boat, officials told the Mindanao Examiner on Tuesday.

Officials said the blast occurred late Monday, but there were no reports of casualties.

“There is an ongoing investigation into the blast. Soldiers found no shrapnel in the area and we still don’t know who was behind it,” said Major Ramon David Hontiveros, a spokesman for the Philippine military’s Western Mindanao Command in Zamboanga City.

He said the explosion occurred near a military detachment adjacent a building where stalls are selling small electronic appliances and textiles. Hontiveros said a pillbox was probably used in the attack since no fragments of explosive were found in the area.

The military earlier said a grenade exploded in the wharf where the American troops were unloading cargoes from their boat.

Locals also reported they heard a burst of automatic gunfire following the explosion. Other reports said soldiers indiscriminately fired their weapons, hitting a nearby mosque and small buildings, but this was denied by Hontiveros.

“That’s not true,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

Police has begun an investigation into the explosion. “We have dispatched a team to investigate the blast,” Inspector Usman Pingay, the town’s police chief, told by phone from Jolo.

Pingay said the wharf was tightly secured by local soldiers and policemen at the time of the blast.

Dozens of US troops are deployed in Jolo the past years and have been assisting local military in defeating Abu Sayyaf terrorism. They have put up a base inside a military headquarters, but it is off-limits to Filipino soldiers.

American soldiers are also helping in various humanitarian projects aimed at winning hearts and minds and get the support of the local Muslims. (Mindanao Examiner)

Southern Philippines hit by twin bombings; JI, Abu Sayyaf blamed for attacks

Police surround an area in Jolo town in Sulu province in the southern Philippines where a motorcycle bomb exploded Tuesday, July 7, 2009 and killed two people and wounded 24 others. A car bomb also exploded in Iligan City in Mindanao, killing one person and wounding 10 more. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Nickee Butlangan and Merlyn Manos)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 7, 2009) – Three people were killed and at least 34 others injured in separate bombings Tuesday in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said two people were killed and 24 more wounded in a motorcycle bomb explosion near the Mount Carmen Cathedral in Jolo town in Sulu province. The blast, which occurred around 7.45 a.m., damaged several hardware stores.

“We are still investigating the motive of the attack and the type of explosive used in this attack. But there were scattered remains of a motorcycle in the area and confirming our suspicion that a motorcycle bomb was used in the attack,” Chief Inspector Usman Pingay, the town’s police chief, told the Mindanao Examiner by phone from Jolo.

He said the bomb exploded in front of the Go Teck Leng hardware and the blast killed Vicky Sia, 62, and Hamsirani Hamsi, 60. He said among the wounded were three policemen.

Jolo town Mayor Hussin Amin said a second improvised explosive, assembled from an 81mm mortar bomb, and planted at police booth outside the church was also disarmed by soldiers.

The wounded were rushed to hospital in Jolo. No group or individual has claimed responsibility for the blast, but Abu Sayyaf militants with links to the Indonesian terror Jemaah Islamiya are largely blamed by the police and military for the attack.

“We suspect that those behind the bombing could be the same group that detonated a motorcycle bomb at the convoy of Governor Sakur Tan,” Amin said.

The mayor was referring to the failed assassination of Tan in May. Tan’s convoy was bombed outside his office while returning home from work, injuring 10 people.

One person was also killed and at least 10 people wounded - three of them soldiers - after a car bomb exploded in Iligan City three hours later.

The car bomb exploded near an army jeep which was parked adjacent to a pawnshop in downtown Iligan and among the wounded were three soldiers. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but previous bombings in Mindanao had been largely blamed by authorities also to Moro rebels and Jemaah Islamiya.

“The explosion occurred at around 10.30 a.m. We still don’t know who was behind the latest bombing. It’s too early to speculate, but the attacks are escalating,” said First Lieutenant Steffani Cacho, a regional military spokeswoman.

Justice Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor said the target of the bombing was the military convoy. “The bombing in Iligan targeted the convoy,” he said in a television interview.

Blancaflor, who also head a government anti-terror task force, said they still do not know if the attacks were coordinated or not. “But the effect of this is to sow terror,” he said.

It was the second bomb attack this week outside a Catholic church in the southern Philippines. On Sunday, an improvised bomb exploded outside a church in Cotabato City in Mindanao and killed 5 people and wounded 55 more. (With reports from Nickee Butlangan in Sulu and Merlyn Manos in Iligan City)

Gunman kills Sulu village chieftain

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 13, 2009) – An unidentified gunman shot dead a village chieftain outside his house in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, police said on Saturday.

Police said Yusop Isnani was shot in the head late Friday. Isnani, chieftain of the village called Busbus in the capital town of Jolo, was outside his house when the lone gunman shot him at close range.
“We are still investigating the killing. We don’t know who was behind the attack,” said Chief Inspector Usman Pingay, the town’s police chief.

Isnani’s family said the slain leader had no known enemies and was loved by many villagers because of his honesty and dedication to his job. (Mindanao Examiner)

Sayyaf ambushed police convoy in Sulu; police chief, 4 others killed

A photo of Sulu provincial police chief, Senior Superintendent Julasirim Kasim, taken in Jolo town two years ago. Suspected Abu Sayyaf militants ambushed a police convoy Thursday, May 7, 2009 killing Kasim along with three other aides and his brother in Sulu's Maimbung town. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 7, 2009) – Suspected Abu Sayyaf militants ambushed Thursday a police convoy in Sulu in southern Philippines and killing 5 people, including the provincial police chief, officials said.

Officials said militants opened fire with automatic weapons on the convoy in the town of Maimbung, a known stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf; killing Sulu police chief, Senior Superintendent Julasirim Kasim, three of his aides and a brother.

“This is a sad day for all of us. Our chief was killed in the ambush staged by the Abu Sayyaf,” said Chief Inspector Usman Pingay, police chief of Jolo town.

Pingay said they tightened security in the capital town after the ambush. “We are now in high alert, we don’t know what will happen next,” he said.

The motive of the attack was unknown, but Kasim had been in the front line in battling the Abu Sayyaf group which is holding a kidnapped Italian aid worker Eugenio Vagni.

Before he died, Kasim said they were pursuing Vagni’s captors in the towns of Indanan, Parang and Maimbung.

Kasim in the past also led the crackdown on suspected Abu Sayyaf supporters and the campaign against illegal weapons in Sulu.

Last December, Abu Sayyaf militants led by Gafur Jumdail attacked a police station in Maibung town, although there were no casualties.

The Abu Sayyaf, which means “Bearer of the sword,” has been linked by authorities to the al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya and blamed on the spate of bombings in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)

Two killed, 4 wounded in explosion in Southern Philippines

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 16, 2009) – Two people were killed and four more wounded in an explosion late Monday at a beer joint in the largely Muslim province of Sulu in the southern Philippines, police said.

Police said the blast, blamed on the terrorist Abu Sayyaf group, occurred at around 8.45 p.m. in the capital town of Jolo. “The explosion targeted the beer joint,” said Chief Inspector Usman Pingay, the town’s police chief.

Pingay said they were investigating reports the explosion came from a bomb was planted in the place. “We are still waiting for more reports,” he told the Mindanao Examiner by phone from Jolo town.

He said they deployed additional police forces to patrol the town and guard vital government installation in Jolo, previously bombed by the Abu Sayyaf which is holding hostage three Red Cross workers – Swiss national Andreas Notter, Italian Eugenio Vagni and Filipino Mary Jean Lacaba since January 15.

“We have reports saying that the UTG was responsible for the attack,” Pingay said, referring to the urban terrorist group, a unit of the Abu Sayyaf.

But the military’s Western Mindanao Command said the explosion was from a grenade tossed by an unidentified man at the karaoke house owned by Eddie Feguracion. “The assailant fled (after the attack) and (is) still at-large,” said Lieutenant Steffani Cacho, a regional army spokeswoman.

No group or individual claimed responsibility for the attack, which occurred after security forces clashed early today with the Abu Sayyaf group holding the aid workers.

An Abu Sayyaf commander, Albader Parad, was either wounded or killed in the fighting in the hinterlands of Indanan town, police and military said.

There were no reports about the fate of the captives. The Abu Sayyaf was reported to have demanded $10-million ransoms for the safe release of the hostages. (Mindanao Examiner)

Chinese trader kidnapped by Sayyaf in Southern Philippines

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 14, 2008) – Abu Sayyaf militants kidnapped a Chinese trader in Sulu province in the southern Philippines, police said Sunday.

Senior Superintendent Julasirim Kasim, Sulu police chief, said at least four gunmen seized Peter Go, 28, as he was closing his electronics store in Jolo town at around 7 p.m. on Saturday.

“Initial reports pointed to Abu Sayyaf leader Albader Parad as behind the kidnapping of the Chinese trader, whose alias is Peter Go,” Kasim told the Mindanao Examiner.

He said the kidnappers; all clad in camouflage uniform and armed with automatic weapons, and dragged the victim to a waiting van in front of horrified civilians.

Chief Inspector Usman Pingay, the Jolo police chief, said Go’s real name is Xili Wu, from the Chinese province of Fujian. He said police forces pursued the kidnappers, but lost them in Indanan town.

He said Li is one of five Chinese traders who own Perlas Trading in downtown Jolo.

“It was quick; the kidnappers disarmed the security guard of the store and grabbed Xili and sped away using a van, which was probably stolen. We are tracking down the kidnappers,” Pingay said.

He said the police are investigating how the Chinese nationals, who used aliases, were able to put up a business in Jolo town. He said the foreigners arrived in Jolo in December last year and since then operated the Perlas Trading.

The Abu Sayyaf on Friday also seized Pakkam Hashim, the principal of Kutah Sairap Elementary School in the village of Wanni Piyanjihan in Parang town also in Sulu, according to the military.

Army Lieutenant Steffani Cacho tagged Abu Sayyaf leader Gafur Jumdail as behind the kidnapping of Hashim. The motive of the kidnapping is still unknown, she said.

“As far as we know the Abu Sayyaf is behind both kidnappings,” Cacho said.

Authorities tagged the Abu Sayyaf group as behind the spate of kidnappings and bomb attacks across Mindanao.

The Abu Sayyaf, which means “The Bearer of the Sword,” has been labeled a terrorist organization by both Manila and Washington, and is believed by the US to have links with the al-Qaeda terror network.

The Philippine government, aided by the US military, has deployed thousands of troops in the south in an effort to eradicate Abu Sayyaf. (Mindanao Examiner)