ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 4, 2012) – Philippine authorities have tagged the Abu Sayyaf as behind the deadly bombing that killed 2 people in the town of Jolo in Sulu province.
An improvised bomb planted outside a store exploded Saturday night and killing two civilians and wounding at least 13 people, police said.
It said the bomb exploded in front of the Cleopatra Commercial Store in downtown Jolo shortly before 7 p.m. The improvised explosive was placed near the store’s power generator set.
No individual or group claimed responsibility for the attack, but the terrorist Abu Sayyaf group with links to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya had been previously blamed for extortion activities and past bombings in Sulu.
Police said initial reports pointed to the Abu Sayyaf as behind the bombing. It said the attack was in retaliation to the recent killing of its member by policemen in Jolo.
“Yun initial report natin eh Abu Sayyaf was behind the bombing dahil lumalabas sa initial investigation natin na posibleng retaliatory ito dahil napatay ng pulis natin yun isang Abu Sayyaf member last week that was extorting (money) sa downtown Jolo. Hinabol pa nga ng mga taong-bayan yun Abu Sayyaf at napatay nito yun isang sibilyan na kanyang nakasalubong habang tumatakas at na-corner ng mga pulis natin at nagkaroon ng shoot out hanggang sa mapatay yun Abu Sayyaf,” Sr. Supt. Antonio Freyra, the Sulu provincial police chief, told the Mindanao Examiner.
He said the Abu Sayyaf used ammonium nitrate fuel oil (ANFO) in the bombing.
“Based doon sa ating investigation ay ANFO ang ginamit sa bombing at dalawa ang confirmed dead and at least 13 naman yun sugatan. Ongoing yun ating security operations sa Sulu ngayon and we deployed more police patrols sa Jolo to thwart or prevent future attacks. At vigilant na rin yun publiko ngayon since we have put up posters ng aming mga cell phone numbers where citizens can text or call us and share information about the Abu Sayyaf and it is very effective in lour campaign,” he said.
The town’s mayor Hussin Amin did not give any statement about the blast. (Mindanao Examiner)
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