4 bombs defused in North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat
DAVAO CITY (Updated) -- Four hours after three bombs were defused in separate locations in North Cotabato early Wednesday, another bomb was found at a gasoline station in Sultan Kudarat.
The Eastern Mindanao Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said the bomb discovered in Isulan town in Sultan Kudarat used as main charge a 60-mm mortar and a mobile phone as triggering device.
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It was placed in one corner of the gasoline station Flying V, which is located along the national highway in Poblacion, Isulan.
A worker of the gasoline station found the bomb at 11 a.m. Wednesday. The Explosives and Ordnance Disposal Team (EOD) from the Philippine Army received the distress call an hour after and immediately proceeded to the area.
They successfully defused the explosive using a water disruptor.
Meanwhile, the three defused bombs in North Cotabato were recovered in three places -- near a bakeshop, in front of a hospital, and near a public market.
North Cotabato police said bomb disposal units from the EOD quickly defused the homemade bombs fashioned from 81-millimeter mortar rounds.
One of the bombs was recovered along the highway in front of Saint Luke’s Hospital in Kabacan around 7:05 a.m. Wednesday, authorities said.
The IED, fashioned from an 81-mm mortar, was discovered by a janitor working for the Kabacan Municipal Government while he was cleaning the highway, said Chief Inspector Ariel Perez Guevarra, provincial director of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Team.
The janitor immediately reported his discovery at the police station.
Two hours later, joint elements of the 63rd EOD team, bomb experts from the Cotabato Provincial Police Office, and the Scene of the Crime Operatives arrived at the crime scene.
After they cordoned the area, they defused the bomb using water cannon, reports said.
On Tuesday, two homemade bombs exploded on USM Avenue in Kabakan, Directorate for Integrated Police Operations in Western Mindanao chief Felicisimo Khu said.
The blast site is about 200 meters away from the gate of the University of Southern Mindanao. No one was hurt in the explosions that damaged several houses in the area.
The blasts also sent residents near the area into panic.
Khu said authorities believe the blasts were the handiwork of Basit Usman, the head of the Special Operations Group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front who is also affiliated with the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf.
He said the bombs were also made from 81-millimeter mortar rounds.
"Explosions and recoveries of similar type of IEDs in the recent indicate that this bomb signature belongs to Basit Usman," said Khu.
He said investigations are underway to determine the motive and the perpetrators.
Khu said they recovered in the blast site a triggering device, which is now with the Crime Laboratory and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group for "forensic examination."
Superintendent Joseph Semillano, chief of Kabacan Police, said the bombings in his area-of-responsibility were related to each other.
"Though these bombs are considered signatures of an armed group in Mindanao, we've yet to investigate further the motive behind the bombings," he said.
Two weeks ago, a roadside bomb also went off after a passenger bus passed a portion of the national highway in Kabacan, just few meters away from an Army detachment.
Authorities have yet to determine the motive of those behind Tuesday night's explosions. (Sun.Star Davao/VR/Sunnex)
Source http://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/local-news/2011/11/10/4-bombs-defused-north-cotabato-sultan-kudarat-189718
The Eastern Mindanao Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said the bomb discovered in Isulan town in Sultan Kudarat used as main charge a 60-mm mortar and a mobile phone as triggering device.
"The Manny Pacquiao Blog". Click here for stories and updates on the Filipino boxing champ.
It was placed in one corner of the gasoline station Flying V, which is located along the national highway in Poblacion, Isulan.
A worker of the gasoline station found the bomb at 11 a.m. Wednesday. The Explosives and Ordnance Disposal Team (EOD) from the Philippine Army received the distress call an hour after and immediately proceeded to the area.
They successfully defused the explosive using a water disruptor.
Meanwhile, the three defused bombs in North Cotabato were recovered in three places -- near a bakeshop, in front of a hospital, and near a public market.
North Cotabato police said bomb disposal units from the EOD quickly defused the homemade bombs fashioned from 81-millimeter mortar rounds.
One of the bombs was recovered along the highway in front of Saint Luke’s Hospital in Kabacan around 7:05 a.m. Wednesday, authorities said.
The IED, fashioned from an 81-mm mortar, was discovered by a janitor working for the Kabacan Municipal Government while he was cleaning the highway, said Chief Inspector Ariel Perez Guevarra, provincial director of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Team.
The janitor immediately reported his discovery at the police station.
Two hours later, joint elements of the 63rd EOD team, bomb experts from the Cotabato Provincial Police Office, and the Scene of the Crime Operatives arrived at the crime scene.
After they cordoned the area, they defused the bomb using water cannon, reports said.
On Tuesday, two homemade bombs exploded on USM Avenue in Kabakan, Directorate for Integrated Police Operations in Western Mindanao chief Felicisimo Khu said.
The blast site is about 200 meters away from the gate of the University of Southern Mindanao. No one was hurt in the explosions that damaged several houses in the area.
The blasts also sent residents near the area into panic.
Khu said authorities believe the blasts were the handiwork of Basit Usman, the head of the Special Operations Group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front who is also affiliated with the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf.
He said the bombs were also made from 81-millimeter mortar rounds.
"Explosions and recoveries of similar type of IEDs in the recent indicate that this bomb signature belongs to Basit Usman," said Khu.
He said investigations are underway to determine the motive and the perpetrators.
Khu said they recovered in the blast site a triggering device, which is now with the Crime Laboratory and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group for "forensic examination."
Superintendent Joseph Semillano, chief of Kabacan Police, said the bombings in his area-of-responsibility were related to each other.
"Though these bombs are considered signatures of an armed group in Mindanao, we've yet to investigate further the motive behind the bombings," he said.
Two weeks ago, a roadside bomb also went off after a passenger bus passed a portion of the national highway in Kabacan, just few meters away from an Army detachment.
Authorities have yet to determine the motive of those behind Tuesday night's explosions. (Sun.Star Davao/VR/Sunnex)
Source http://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/local-news/2011/11/10/4-bombs-defused-north-cotabato-sultan-kudarat-189718
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