ZAMBOANGA CITY (Updated 6:15 a.m.) -- Mayor Celso Lobregat confirmed on Friday morning that one of the fatalities in Zamboanga airport blast on Thursday was the bomb carrier.
Lobregat identified the bearer of the explosive as Reynaldo Apelado who died on the spot. Other fatality was identified as Jimil Yacob who died in the hospital.
On Thursday night, members of the Scene of the Crime Operations (Soco) recovered from the site an identification card but they did not reveal the identity as they were still conducting a follow-up operation.
The mayor said they were also able to see in the video in the airport premises that the bomb was carried by Apelado.
Although investigators said the airport's closed-circuit television cameras were not working, Lobregat said they were still able to see the video although it was not clear adding they just keep on playing it again and again.
Two people were killed while 24 others were wounded, including Sulu Governor Abdusakur Tan, in a bomb explosion outside the arrivals area of an international airport here.
The blast went off at 6:15 p.m., just outside the arrival gate as passengers were leaving the Zamboanga City International Airport, said Col. Santiago Baluyot, head of the military's Task Force Zamboanga.
Lobregat also said Friday that Tan told him "I think so" when asked if he was the target.
Tan, along with son Maimbung, Sulu Mayor Samier Tan, was on the plane that arrived minutes earlier from Manila. He sustained a small wound near his ribs. He was later discharged from the hospital.
The group behind the attack is not yet established, and investigators could not say if the incident was a case of premature explosion or suicide bombing as the investigation is not yet pointed to the triggering device.
They will also look on the possibility on the involvement of the victims in the incident.
Meanwhile, Philippine National Police Chief Jesus Verzosa will arrive in Zamboanga City Friday, and will conduct a press conference at 8 a.m.
US Ambassador to the Philippines Harry K. Tomas Jr., on the other hand, who was supposed to visit Zamboanga City on Friday, postponed the trip, saying it would be a burden to security personnel investigating the attack. He offered US assistance in the probe.
"I deplore this heinous crime that victimized ordinary travelers," US Ambassador Harry Thomas said in a statement. He said he decided "to postpone my travel tomorrow in order to avoid distracting" police from investigating the attack.
Thomas had been due to fly to the airport with Gloria Steele, the new director of the United States Agency for International Development (USAid), to visit some US-funded projects in the city.
Thomas and Steele are scheduled to visit the Halfway House that is jointly run by the Visayan Forum Foundation and the Philippine Ports Authority where the US Ambassador will witness the signing of a memorandum of agreement among members of the Zamboanga City Sea-Based Anti-Trafficking Task Force.
The US envoy was also set to join in the signing of two memoranda of understanding on tuberculosis treatment between private sector partners and the City Government of Zamboanga.
President Benigno Aquino III "condemned the violence" and "instructed the relevant authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice," said his spokesman, Edwin Lacierda. (Sunnex)