TROOPS have foiled a roadside bomb attack as they safely recovered three improvised bombs in Basilan province, the military reported.
Brigadier General Domingo Gobway, Joint Task Force (JTF)-Basilan commander, said the improvised bombs were recovered around 5 a.m. Saturday, June 4, in Sitio Limbu Urot in Tipo-Tipo proper village, Tipo-Tipo municipality.
Gobway said the troops were on an intelligence-driven operation when they recovered the improvised bombs based on information they received from concerned residents.
Personnel of the 39th Explosive Ordnance Demolition team conducted render safe procedure and detonated the improvised bombs in place, according to Gobway.
He said the main charge of the improvised bombs was ammonium nitrate fuel oil packed in three bottles rigged with two-inch nails as shrapnel, blasting cap as detonator, and two eight-inch steel tubes.
He ordered the troops to intensify security patrols to prevent attacks on troops and civilians through roadside bombing.
He did not say whether the Abu Sayyaf bandits were behind the roadside bombing attempt in Tipo-Tipo.
On May 30, two improvised bombs exploded one after the other that injured two persons in Isabela City, the capital of Basilan, which Lieutenant General Alfredo Rosario Jr., commander of the Western Mindanao Command said was the handiwork of the Abu Sayyaf bandits.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Junpikar Sitin, Isabela City police chief, also said that the remnants of the Abu Sayyaf based in Tipo-Tipo were behind the May 30 twin bombings. (SunStar Zamboanga)