[Inquirer] The Philippine military on Monday night foiled a bomb attempt in Jolo, Sulu, after soldiers discovered an explosive device left hidden in some fruit by the roadside. Brig. Gen. Alan Arrojado said the bomb attempt was believed to be the work of the Abu Sayyaf, possibly targeting a nearby military camp.Two men on a motorcycle were seen leaving the fruit by the roadside, by a Marine checkpoint. A soldier saw the pair aboard the motorcycle stopping about 20 meters before the checkpoint. The men appeared to be experiencing engine trouble, after which one of the men left the bunch of fruit by the side of the road. Arrojado said the men then pushed their motorcycle through the checkpoint.
Troops from the checkpoints checked out the abandoned fruit, which appeared to have electric wires mixed in. Soldiers cordoned off the area and called for assistance from explosives and ordnance units.
The IED consisted of 60 mm mortar ammunition, a small plastic box containing two kilos of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil, three 9-volt batteries, and a cell phone trigger.