PAGADIAN CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Sept. 26, 2013) – Police blasted a suspicious bag on Thursday after it was left inside the rest room of a courier company in Pagadian City in Zamboanga del Sur province in southern Philippines, officials said.
The bag was carefully removed by bomb experts deployed by the police and safely blasted it outside the building using water jet disruptor which is use to disable an explosive device through a shot of water to pierce thin walled items, such as packages and bags, or briefcases, to destroy any circuitry before detonation occurs.
Police said no bomb or explosive was found in the bag left inside the restroom of the courier firm 2GO at the second floor of Lugay Building in downtown Pagadian. It was not immediately known who left the bag in the restroom.
In August, a bag left on a roadside in the business center of Pagadian was also disrupted by the police on suspicion it contained an improvised explosive.
The bag was abandoned in front of Master Hardware along Rizal Street and inspected by members of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal team, who used water jet disruptor to disable any electronic component in the bag, which only yielded an aluminium cooking pot and a pair of slippers.
A car abandoned for days at the Gaisano Mall parking area in Pagadian was also destroyed by the police on suspicion it contained explosives, but no bombs had been found in the vehicle.
But in May, a homemade bomb exploded in front of the mall and although there were no casualties, the blast damaged several parked cars. (Mindanao Examiner)
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