[PNA] The Philippine military, police, and villagers prevented what could have been a bombing spree by suspected New People's Army militants in South Cotabato with the discovery of 19 improvised explosive devices in a raid at the group's hideout on dawn on Monday morning.Acting on tips from villagers, troops seized the IEDs in a compound they raided in a remote village of Dumangas in T'boli, South Cotabato.
Lt. Colonel Benjamin Leander said, "Civilians informed us about the presence of armed men in a safe house, we responded but the armed men were gone."
After a thorough search of the camp, security forces found the large cache of explosives. Leander said the recovered IEDs were similar to landmines used by communist guerrillas around South Cotabato.
No one has claimed ownership of the explosives, but the military suspects they are owned by the Maoist miliatnts, who have been attacking government forces, construction companies and multi-national firms in South Cotabato.