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Wednesday, October 11, 2006
14 killed, 24 wounded in bomb attacks
By Al Jacinto
DAVAO CITY -- At least 14 people were killed and another 24 wounded in a series of bomb attacks Tuesday in the southern Philippines, where security officials were put on alert for possible attacks by al-Qaida-linked militants, police said.
The bombing came just a week after security forces arrested the Indonesian wife -- Istiada Oemar Sovie and her two boys ages six and eight -- of a Jemaah Islamiya militant, Dulmatin, in Jolo island.
North Cotabato Provincial Police Chief Federico Dulay said the bomb, believed to be made from an 88mm mortar shell, went off at about 8 p.m. in front of the town hall of Makilala town in the southern part of the province.
"Clearly this is a terrorist act," Dulay said.
Another bomb killed two women and injured four others in a public market in Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat province, as US and Philippine officials said they had received credible intelligence that a terrorist group may be planning to carry out bombings in the southern Mindanao region, where Sovie was captured last week.
The US Embassy warned that it had received "credible information" about possible attacks, particularly in cities in central Mindanao, "over the next several days."
Two Philippine security officials monitoring the area agreed, citing possible retaliation for last week's arrest of Sovie on southern Jolo Island, in the Mindanao region. Sovie's husband, Dulmatin, is Asia's most wanted terror suspect for his alleged role in the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people.
Quoting witnesses, Dulay said an unidentified man carrying a plastic bag went to a stall selling alcohol in a crowded area along a highway during celebrations of Makilala's founding anniversary, bought a bottle of wine, then left.
The explosion occurred minutes later, killing a man and a woman on the spot, he said. Ten other people died en route to a hospital in nearby Kidapawan City or while being treated there. Twenty others suffered injuries are still being treated in nearby hospitals.
A row of commercial stalls, a carnival and cultural presentations in a nearby gymnasium have attracted crowds this week. The powerful explosion destroyed a row of stalls and two motorcycle taxis and dug a crater in the asphalt road, Dulay said.
"The area is a total wreck," Dulay said.
Makilala is a small banana and rubber-producing town 950 kilometers (590 miles) southeast of Manila. Communist and Muslim guerrillas are known to have a presence in the town.
Earlier in the day, a security guard found the bomb in Tacurong, a predominantly Christian agricultural region not far away. It was stashed in a bag filled with packs of corn chips, and the guard hurled it away from a crowd before it exploded, preventing more casualties, army Colonel Felipe Tabas said.
"We are still investigating the motive of the attack and who was behind it. Two people are dead and four more are wounded in the bombing," said Lieutenant Colonel Julieto Ando, spokesman of the Army's 6th Infantry Division.
The bomb also was made from a small mortar round and could be remotely triggered using a cell phone but it apparently went off prematurely after the guard tossed it away, police Chief Superintendent German Doria.
Such bombs have been used in the past by the Jemaah Islamiyah and its local ally, the Abu Sayyaf group, but investigators were trying to determine if other groups, like extortion gangs, were involved, Doria said.
About 10 security guards were deployed recently at the market because of intelligence reports it could be targeted, he said.
The fatalities were identified as Conchita Magon and Isabel Mariano. Those injured were Helen Mendoza, 42; Rudy Salada, 22; Roselyn Tubilla, 28; and Delia Panyoza, 22.
Soldiers and policemen were tracking down two men who were seen near the restrooms minutes before the bomb, fashioned out from an 81-mm mortar, was detonated.
Tacurong City Mayor Lino Montilla condemned the attack. No group has claimed responsibility for the noontime attack.
In southern Zamboanga city, police are on alert to safeguard an annual Roman Catholic festival that culminates with a public parade on Thursday. The predominantly Christian city of about 700,000 has been hit by deadly bomb attacks in recent years that were blamed on the Abu Sayyaf.
The United States has offered a US$10 million reward for the capture of Dulmatin and US$1 million for another Indonesian, Umar Patek. The two are believed to be hiding in Jolo with Abu Sayyaf guerrillas. (With reports from RHB/GF of Sun.Star Davao/AP/Sunnex)
(October 11, 2006 issue)
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