COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 26, 2011) – Philippine soldiers disarmed Monday a powerful improvised explosive in Maguindanao province in the restive southern region of Mindanao, officials said.
Officials said the explosive was discovered by a civilian at a busy road in Datu Odin Sinsuat town, about a kilometer away from the headquarters of the 6th Infantry Division and the local airport.
It was assembled from a pair of 81mm mortar bombs connected to a wet cell battery, said Major Sergio Macarandan, an army spokesman.
“The bomb was placed inside a sack and covered with charcoals. The sack bears the marking “Bangsamoro Independence Movement,” he told the Mindanao Examiner. “We still don’t know the motive and whether the Bangsamoro Independence Movement is behind it.”
The same markings were also found in several improvised explosives planted in various locations in Cotabato City last week.
No individual or group claimed responsibility for the foiled bombing, but the Bangsamoro Independence Movement is the group founded by Ameril Umra Kato, a former Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebel leader.
Kato was ousted this year following his strong criticism of MILF chieftain Murad Ebrahim whom he branded as traitor for dropping their demand for an independent Muslim state in Mindanao.
The MILF, which is currently negotiating peace with Manila, is demanding a Muslim sub-state in Mindanao. But the Aquino government rejected this demand and instead offered a wider autonomy for some four million Muslims in Mindanao which is unacceptable to the MILF. (Mindanao Examiner)
20