MAGUINDANAO – Security forces defused Friday a powerful bomb in the restive province of Maguindanao in the Muslim autonomous region where locals were celebrating a cultural festival, officials said.
Officials said the improvised explosive, assembled from an 81mm mortar bomb rigged to an alarm clock, was planted outside the office of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council in Buluan town.
Investigators said the bomb was inside a black military bag when discovered by civilians who phoned the police about the explosive.
Senior Inspector Gani Miro said they immediately dispatched a team after receiving a phone call informing them about the discovery of the bomb. He said the army disarmed the explosive.
Police and military have tightened security following the foiled bombing in the hometown of Maguindanao Governor Esmael Mangudadatu. No individual or group claimed responsibility for the failed bombing.
The motive of the failed attack was unknown, but there have been reports of sporadic clashes the past days between military forces and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and the larger Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the Maguindanao towns of Datu Salibo and Datu Piang that left scores of casualties on each side. (Moh Saaduddin and Rose Muneza)
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