BASILAN PROVINCE (Mindanao Examiner / Sept. 6, 2014) – Government troops recovered a power improvised explosive planted by the Abu Sayyaf in Lamitan City in the restive province of Basilan in the Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao, officials said Saturday.
Captain Maria Rowena Muyuela, a spokeswoman for the Western Mindanao Command, said army soldiers disarmed the explosive planted in the village called Sabong.
She said the militant group tied to Jemaah Islamiya filled a gas cooking cylinder with ammonium nitrate and iron nails and wired the explosive to blasting caps.
Quoting a military report, Muyuela tagged a militant Erik Ajibon as behind the foiled bombing in the village, whose route which is frequented by civilians and soldiers.
Muyuela said troops have intensified its operations against the Abu Sayyaf which has been largely blamed by authorities for the spate of killings and kidnappings in Basilan and nearby provinces, including Zamboanga.
Just recently, a Special Forces commander Captain Mark Gamboa died in a clash with militants in Basilan’s Lantawan town. (Mindanao Examiner)
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