Thursday, October 12, 2006
RP puts south on highest terror alert level after bombings: military (5:04 p.m.)
MANILA -- Authorities have placed the country's south under "extreme critical alert" -- the highest of a four-step public terror warning system -- after three bombings this week and fears of more attacks, the military said Thursday.
Three bomb attacks separately struck the southern Mindanao region Tuesday and Wednesday, including one that killed six people and wounded 29 others during a town fiesta in Makilala in North Cotabato province, officials said.
Police and military officials said two al-Qaida-linked groups -- the small but violent Abu Sayyaf and Indonesia-based Jemaah Islamiyah -- may have staged the bombings to divert the military's attention from a U.S.-backed offensive against the militants on southern Jolo island. (AP) |
