(UPDATE 6) Jolo, Iligan twin blasts' death toll up at 7
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 07/07/2009 9:06 AM
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Twin explosions hit parts of Jolo, Sulu and Iligan City, Lanao del Norte Tuesday morning, killing seven people and wounding scores more.
Sulu-based military commander Maj. Gen. Juancho Sabban said the Jolo bomb went off while ordnance teams from the police and the military were detonating another bomb on Sanchez Street around 7:50 a.m. He said the improvised explosive was placed inside a motorcycle and was "remotely detonated" possibly by members of the Abu Sayyaf bandit group.
Military spokesman Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo said the explosion killed two people on the spot while four others died later in hospital. He said three police officers were among some 40 people wounded in the Jolo blast.
Jolo Mayor Hussin Amin said the three policemen were checking reports of a motorcycle possibly rigged with a bomb, which was parked between a gasoline station and a hardware store or 50 meters away from a church.
"What happened was when they were trying to disrupt the first bomb, the civilians moved away from the scene. But unfortunately, there was a second bomb where the civilians went. It was placed in a motorcycle and exploded," Sabban told ANC.
He said the blast took place near the municipal hall, a half block away from the cathedral and right in the middle of the business district.
He added that police and military forces were tightly securing the entry and exit points of the town proper when the bomb attacks were carried out. He said the bomb could have been assembled inside the town.
Sabban said security forces have cordoned off the town proper and checkpoints have been placed at the town's exit and entry points. He said the "situation is under control."
Iligan City blast
More than two hours after the blast, another bomb went off in Iligan City, Lanao del Norte province around 10:40 a.m.
Armed Forces' spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. said the bomb was rigged into a parked car at the corner of Sabayle Street and Cabili avenue, in front of a lending firm. An Army jeep which was passing by the area, was hit in the explosion.
Reports received by ABS-CBN News Iligan said one person was killed in the blast and 10 others were wounded.
Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said the discovery of the bomb near a church in Jolo creates a pattern, which may help investigators pinpoint the group responsible in the bomb attacks.
"Nakakakita tayo ng pattern ngayon na ito ay iniiwan sa labas ng simbahan ng Katoliko. Additional clues iyon para malaman kung sino ang gumagawa," the defense chief said.
The bomb attack followed the deadly explosion outside the Immaculate Concepcion Cathedral in Cotabato City on Sunday morning, which left five people dead and more than 30 others wounded.
Reports said one of the injured victims has died, bringing the death toll of the Cotabato City bombing to six.
Military officials have pointed to the Indonesian-based terror group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front's (MILF) defunct Special Operations Group as possible groups responsible for the attack.
Police spokesman Senior Superintendent Leonardo Espina said charges will be filed against the suspects in the blast as soon as ordnance investigators finish their post-blast investigation.
Espina declined to confirm if the JI is responsible for the blast.
No connection
Sabban, meanwhile, brushed off ideas that the bomb attacks in Jolo and Cotabato City were related.
"This is a signature bomb always detonated by the Abu Sayyaf. We believe that it is done by the Abu Sayyaf group," he said, referring to the Jolo blast.
He said the group could have been using the Cotabato City bombing to create an impression that there is a bigger terror plan in Mindanao.
Sabban said the group responsible in the Cotabato City blast is connected with the MILF, which, he said has no connection with the Sulu-based Abu Sayyaf group.
"The group here (Sulu) wanted to do the same effect in Jolo, to sow terror and create panic. Everything is under control now," he said. With reports from Noel Alamar, radio dzMM and Roxanne Arevalo, ABS-CBN Iligan
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