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Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Jemaah Islamiyah recruits eyed in Kabacan blast
By Ben O. Tesiorna
AUTHORITIES in Central Mindanao are looking into the possibility that new recruits of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) set out the latest explosion that rocked Kabacan town in North Cotabato Monday evening.
Major General Agustin Dema-ala, chief of the Army's 6th Infantry Division, said no one was hurt in the explosion that happened at around 10 p.m. at the corner Roxas and Aglipay streets, near the Kabacan Public Market.
He said the area was already deserted when a homemade bomb exploded, which damaged a bakeshop owned by Crisostomo Baluyot.
The bomb was rigged to thermos jug filled with gasoline and an electronic timer wired to a battery.
The attack late Monday occurred just a day after another homemade bomb exploded inside the ferry m/v Dona Ramona in Basilan island and wounded at least 30 people.
Officials said the same type of explosive, a firebomb, was used in both incidents.
Demaala said they are looking into the possibility that recruits by the Southeast Asian terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah were behind the bombing.
But provincial police director Miguel Laurel believes those behind Monday's explosion could be extortionists with no motives of hurting innocent civilians.
"Gawain ito ng mga extortionists para matakot ang mga businessmen dun na di nagbibigay ng pera. Itinaon na walang tao sa paligid kaya walang nasaktan," Laurel said in a telephone interview.
North Cotabato Governor Emmanuel Piñol ordered for a manhunt operation against the perpetrators.
The governor said the celebration of the province's 91st founding anniversary would continue despite the recent bombings.
Vice President Noli de Castro and Cuban Ambassador Jorge Rey Jimenez will visit the province as scheduled Thursday to grace the celebration.
The Kabacan bombing came two days after suspected terrorists also bombed a ferry in Basilan province, injuring 30 passengers, mostly children.
The military said Sunday's blast was the handiwork of the Abu Sayyaf, believed to have links with the JI.
Demaala said anti-terror operation is going on in the southern Philippines, hunting down members of the Abu Sayyaf and at least four Indonesian JI terrorists.
"We are pursuing the Abu Sayyaf and members of the Indonesian terror group Jemaah Islamiyah operating in central Mindanao," he said without elaborating.
It was not yet known if the Abu Sayyaf and the Jemaah Islamiya have joined forces in the south, but previous military statements said the two groups had forged an alliance, along with renegade members of the country's largest separatist rebels Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which is currently negotiating peace with Manila.
Last week, troops foiled a bombing attempt in Kabacan town after villagers discovered an 81mm mortar bomb attached to a timer before it explode.
No group or individual claimed responsibility for the latest bombing to hit parts of Mindanao. (With reports from Peng Aliño and Al Jacinto of Sun.Star Zamboanga)
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (August 31, 2005 issue)
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