Monday, March 06, 2006
Troops recover bombs in Jolo island
By Al Jacinto
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Government soldiers recovered a cache of suspected Abu Sayyaf explosives and homemade bombs near a highway where they regularly pass, a military report said Sunday.
Officials said the bombs -- made from ammonium nitrates and TNT -- were all rigged to electronic timers and cellular phones to trigger detonation when scavengers discovered them near a garbage dump on Kilometer 3 in the village of Tagbak in Indanan town on Saturday.
The soldiers rushed to the area and disarmed the explosives, said Brigadier General Alexander Aleo. "They were powerful all right, and we have disarmed the bombs," he said.
Aleo suspected that the Abu Sayyaf group placed the bombs on the highway.
"It has the terrorists' trademark, and the operation against the Abu Sayyaf is going on. We have to neutralize the terrorist group before it can do more harm or damage to the public," he said.
He said the highway links the towns of Indanao, Maimbung, and Talipao and that military trucks regularly use the route to transport troops.
Among those recovered were one 20-liter plastic container filled with ammonium nitrate and picric acid, a highly sensitive explosive that can be detonated by heat, flame, shock, or friction; one plastic gallon filled with TNT powder; one bottle of explosives from rocket grenade and TNT, all mixed with metal ball bearings and attached to cellular phones; a communication radio set and timers to trigger detonation.
A bomb scare last month swept Jolo island and disrupted classes at the Jolo National High School.
Police said text messages warning of a bomb attack in the school and other targets were spreading in Jolo. The bomb scare forced the school to suspend its classes. No bombs were found in the school, police said.
A suspected Abu Sayyaf bomb explosion last month ripped through a roadside karaoke bar outside a military base in Jolo, killing 2 civilians and wounding 28 others.
Early this year, two Abu Sayyaf bombs exploded simultaneously in downtown Zamboanga, killing and wounding dozens of people.
Just this month, Philippine and US military forces distributed an updated list of wanted Abu Sayyaf posters in Zamboanga City and Jolo island and gave away more than 5,000 bottles of mineral water labeled with photographs and bounty information of terrorist leaders. The US included the group on its list of foreign terrorist organizations.
Washington offered as much as $5 million bounty for known Abu Sayyaf leaders, including Khadaffy Janjalani. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo also put up P100 million rewards for the capture of the group's leaders and their members dead or alive. (Sun.Star Zamboanga/Sunnex)
(March 6, 2006 issue)
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