Abu Sayyaf leader's brother 'person of interest' in Jolo blasts

Contributed photo
Contributed photo

AUTHORITIES have identified the brother of an Abu Sayyaf leader as among those responsible for the twin blasts in a church in Jolo, Sulu.

Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Oscar Albayalde said Monday, January 28, that a certain alias Kamah, brother of slain Abu Sayyaf leader Surakah Ingog, was spotted along with several other people through a closed-circuit television camera roaming around the Our Lady of Mount Carmel cathedral minutes before the explosion.

Kamah is an alleged bomb expert, said Albayalde.

In a press briefing together Interior and Local Government secretary Eduardo Año,

Albayalde said they are also looking into a group for possible involvement in the bombings, stressing such incident cannot be staged by a lone suspect.

“Well, merong sinasabi ‘yung PD (provincial director) dito na one person (of interest) pero tinitingnan a group, of course, kasi there are several threat groups... I am sure hindi naman nagtatrabaho yan na isa-isa. Ito naman meron pwedeng mga taga-gawa, iba ‘yung tagalagay at iba ‘yung taga detonate, so hindi pwedeng iisang tao ito,” he said.

(The provincial director said there is one person of interest, but there are also several threat groups we are looking into for possible involvement, because I'm sure they are not working individually. One person might have placed the bombs and another was assigned to detonate. It's not just one person.)

On the possibility that the incident was a suicide bombing mission as claimed by the Islamic State, Albayalde said investigators are yet to obtain any possible evidence on the matter.

“Well, definitely, electronically detonated ito dahil doon sa timing, yun ang initially nakikita ng ating EOD (Explosives Ordnance Division) experts. ‘Yung sinasabing suicide bombing, wala pa tayong ebidensya na ito ay perpetrated by a suicide bomber, although sabi nga ni SILG kanina, very unlikely na makapasok ka dyan na naka bag ka without being noticed at kung ikaw ay maglalaglag ng isang malaking bag dyan,” he added.

(Definitely, this was electronically detonated because of the timing of the explosions. As to the suicide bombing claim, we have no evidence that will point to that yet. The Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año said earlier it was very unlikely for them to enter the church with a bag and leave a bag without being noticed.)

Albayalde said based on initial post blast investigation, the explosives used in the incident were big, citing the shrapnel have reached over 400 feet from where the bombs exploded.

He said the explosives were made of thick stainless steel usually being used in making jeepneys.

“Ang assumption dito, talagang malaki ‘yung substance ‘yung ginamit so hindi mo basta maiwan yan ng hindi mapansin ng isang mga ibang nagsisimba,” Albayalde added.

(The assumption is that the bombs are big, so you cannot just leave them in the church without you being noticed.)

But Albayalde admitted there were security lapses that resulted in the incident.

According to the PNP’s latest update, 20 persons -- five soldiers, one Coast Guard member and 14 civilians -- were killed, while a total of 112 people -- two policemen, 18 soldiers, two Coast Guard personnel, and 90 civilians -- were wounded in the twin bombings.

Security forces earlier said that police and military personnel were positioned in the area while the mass was ongoing. (SunStar Philippines)

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