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| Southeast Asia |
| Abu Sayyaf behind South Philippines bombings |
| 2005-07-31 |
| SECURITY officials on Sunday linked the Abu Sayyaf, which is tied to al-Qaeda terror network, to the two bombings in the southern Philippines that left four people wounded. "We have reasons to believe the Abu Sayyaf is behind these attacks. There is an ongoing operation against the terror group and the blasts could be diversionary," the commander of the Army's 6th Infantry Division, Maj. Gen. Agustin Dema-ala, said. Police and military said four people were wounded in separate explosions Saturday in the southern Philippines. A 14-year-old student of Notre Dame school was wounded when a home-made bomb exploded in Cotabato City before noon time. Authorities said the bomb was planted near the administrative building of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) inside a compound in Cotabato City. "We are still investigating the blast. A 14-year-old student was slightly wounded in the explosion that occurred inside the ARMM compound," local police chief Inspector Joey Ampong said. A second bomb explosion, which occured four hours later in Koronadal City, left three civilians wounded. The bomb, placed in a cardboard box, exploded on a motorcab parked in front of the city's main market, the military said. No groups claimed responsibilities for the two attacks and authorities would not say if the explosions were connected or not. Police in Cotabato said they recovered parts of a shattered cellular phone, raising suspicion that it was used to trigger the explosion. "They're using cell phones as initiators to set off explosive devices. This could be part of a bigger plot to sow terror. We are in heightened alert now," Ampong said. Police could not say who was behind the blast or the motive in the attack. "It could be a rehearsal, to test whether cell phones are effective tool to trigger explosion," Ampong said. Abu Sayyaf terrorists tied to al-Qaeda network had also previously used cell phones to detonate bombs in Zamboanga City. Instead of the phone ringing, it sends the power to an explosive charge and detonated it. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |