Tuesday, October 17, 2006 Bombings trademark of Indon terror suspect?
THREE homemade bombs that exploded last week in Cotabato, including one that killed six people, were set off by mobile phones, a sign that a police official believed points to Dulmatin, one of Asia's most wanted terror suspects.
A fourth unexploded bomb, made of two 81 mm mortar rounds attached to a Nokia mobile phone, was found Wednesday near a public plaza in Makilala town, site of the explosion that killed six people and wounded 29 the night before, police said. When investigators examined the mobile phone, it had one missed call-an eerie indication of the attacker's failed effort to trigger a deadly explosion, the police official said on condition of anonymity, because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
While investigations are still going on, another bomb ripped through the police compound in Jolo, Sulu province, where an ongoing military operation is believed to later lead to Dulmatin and his group, the Indonesian-based Jemaah Islamiyah, which has been blamed for some of the region's worst terrorist strikes.
Police intelligence officials said Dulmatin, from Indonesia, introduced bombs made with mobile phone-triggered mortar rounds with small electrical boards to Filipino guerrillas in secret training camps in the south.
Previously, Filipino Muslim rebels generally used grenades or other forms of hand-thrown explosives.
Although authorities have not seen Dulmatin-except his black-and-white mug shot on the US' most-wanted terrorist posters-investigators have followed the bloody trail of lethal bombings he allegedly helped stage from Indonesia to the Philippines.
His war may also have turned personal, according to authorities. Last week, troops captured his wife, Istiada Binti Oemar Sovie, and took custody of his two sons from southern Jolo Island, where Dulmatin, Patek and leaders of the Abu Sayyaf rebel group are the targets by a US-backed offensive.
"We're looking into the angle that the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah did the bombings to retaliate against the capture of Dulmatin's wife," AFP chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon told reporters last week.
Authorities know little about Dulmatin. A US government website that offers a $10 million reward for his capture describes him as an electronics specialist who trained in al-Qaida camps in Afghanistan and is a senior Jemaah Islamiyah figure.
North Cotabato Gov. Emmanuel Piñol pointed out lately that an accusing finger at the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and accused it of involvement in the bombings.
But, rebel officials and a Catholic priest said the bomb attacks were intended to derail the already shaky peace negotiations and that a third party was behind it.
Piñol, who met with military and police officials in the province, said all indications point to the MILF's involvement in Tuesday night's bomb attack in Makilala, North Cotabato, leaving six people dead and 29 others wounded.
Piñol said the Jemaah Islamiyah's hands are visible in the attacks. The JI masterminded it, the MILF allegedly acted as the executioner.
The MILF has repeatedly denied involvement in the bombing run, and even offered to help government agents identify and arrest the suspects. (CO)
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