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Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Task force to probe ferry bombing formed
By Al Jacinto
THE Philippine National Police (PNP) has created Monday, August 29, 2005, a task force to investigate the bombing of a ferry in Basilan province that left, at least, 30 people wounded.
PNP chief Arturo Lomibao ordered the creation of the task force, according to Police spokesman Leopoldo Bataoil, who said that the task force will coordinate with all law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation of the bombing Sunday of the ferry M/V Dona Ramona, at the Lamitan wharf in Basilan.
Lomibao inspected the ferry on Monday in Basilan and later met with local security and town officials to discuss anti-terror contingency in the island, a known stronghold of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group, believed responsible in the attack.
The military said at least 30 people were injured, mostly from third degree burns, after the homemade bomb left near the ferry's canteen exploded and engulfed the lower deck in fire.
Bataoil said initial reports have confirmed that the blast was caused by an improvised explosive device (IED). "Initial evidence gathered from the ground showed that an IED was used in the attack," he said.
He appealed to the public to stay vigilant and report to authorities any suspicious persons with baggage. "We should be vigilant and please help us prevent similar attacks by proving the authorities with information about suspicious persons in your locality," he said.
Meanwhile, Basilan military chief Brig. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer said the operation against the Abu Sayyaf is going on. "The operation against the terrorists is ongoing," he said.
At least six of those seriously wounded in bombing were brought to Zamboanga City for treatment of severe burns in the body.
One of those injured, Pfc. Edwin Calinsag, said he saw a young man sporting a pony-tail walked past him, left a box near the canteen and then hurriedly went out. The package later exploded and a ball of fire engulfed the lower deck, he said.
"I though he was just a port worker. He came down with the package and then went out, and there was a loud explosion and I saw the ball of fire and then smoke and everybody was screaming and running and crying."
"There was chaos and confusion and when the smoke cleared, there were people wounded, badly burned and down on the floor. I myself and my wife are also injured," Calinsag, who was on a rest and recreation break, said.
Officials said they were investigating what type of chemicals were used in the attack, but witnesses said the smell of gunpowder persists inside the ferry, whose lower deck was destroyed by the powerful blast.
"Many of those wounded told police investigators that they smelled something like gunpowder after the explosion," the spokesman of Basilan governor Christopher Puno said.
The ferry, bound for Zamboanga City, was picking up passengers in Lamitan when the bomb exploded past 7 a.m.
The attack occurred just two days after Philippine military chief General Generoso Senga inspected troops in the southern Philippines and vowed an intensified anti-terror campaign in the troubled southern region, where security forces are fighting members of the Abu Sayyaf group.
Senga ordered a major offensive against the Abu Sayyaf group, blamed for the series of bombings and attacks on civilian target in main Mindanao island, and also an intensified hunt for members of the Indonesian terror group Jemaah Islamiya, believed to be hiding in the jungle of central Mindanao.
"We are intensifying our operation against the Abu Sayyaf and the Jemaah Islamiya," Senga told reporters.
Senga earlier deployed 400 marine soldiers in areas where the Abu Sayyaf are actively operating. Troops are fighting Abu Sayyaf militants in Jolo island and in Maguindanao province, where ten soldiers had been wounded in clashes last week.
He said the operation is part of the government's anti-terror campaign. The Abu Sayyaf was also blamed for two bombings in Zamboanga City early this month that wounded 26 people.
The United States listed the Abu Sayyaf as a foreign terrorist organization and froze it assets abroad. Washington also offered as much as $5 million bounty for the capture of known Abu Sayyaf leaders, including its chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani for the killing of two kidnapped U.S. citizens in 2002 in the southern Philippines.
(August 30, 2005 issue)
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