Policemen guard Isabela City in Basilan province. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)
BASILAN PROVINCE (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 28, 2013) – Police have recovered Monday an improvised explosive left behind a government school in Isabela City in Basilan province in southern Philippines.
Chief Inspector Ariel Huesca, a regional police spokesman, said the explosive – a mixture of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil – was first discovered by a villager at the back of the Isabela City Pilot School and informed authorities about it.
“The explosive was placed inside a bag and was planted at the back of the building of the said pilot school. It contained Ammonium Nitrate Fuel Oil with an improvised time fuse,” he said.
He said members of the Explosive and Ordnance Division of the Police Regional Public Safety Battalion rushed to the school and safely recovered the bomb.
It was unknown who tried to set off the bomb or its motive, but the discovery of the explosive coincided with village polls. Police would not say if the foiled attack was connected to the elections or not.
Basilan is one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao. Basilan and Lanao del Sur, also a province in the autonomous region, were two areas marred with violence and vote-buying during the polls. (Mindanao Examiner)
20