Bomb attack foiled in Sulu

SULU - The Philippine military said it thwarted a bomb attack in the capital town of Jolo in the southern province of Sulu barely a month after twin suicide bombings claimed by ISIS killed and wounded dozens of people.

Philippine military photos show the improvised explosive device recovered by the Coast Guard in Sulu's capital town Jolo. 

Brig. Gen. William Gonzales, commander of the anti-terror Joint Task Force Sulu, said a team from Philippine Coast Guard patrolling the pier discovered the bomb Saturday evening near the headquarters of the Maritime Police and the office of the Harbor Master.

He said a K9 unit sat near the bomb. Members of the police bomb squad disarmed the explosive which was assembled from a rifle grenade and packed with concrete nails attached to a pair of blasting caps and a spark plug.

Gonzales said the discovery of the bomb and foiled attack saved a lot of lives. “I commend our troops and our partners for this accomplishment. You saved the lives of the innocent people and foiled this terroristic activity of our heartless enemies,” he said.

Lt. Gen. Corleto Vinluan Jr., chief of the Western Mindanao Command, also commended the security forces.

“This success is a result of the intensified conduct of intelligence operations and the strengthened collaboration with the police and other security agencies, thus preempting the terrorists from executing their terror plan. I commend the troops of the JTF Sulu for a job well done,” he said.

The foiled attack came a day after a roadside bombing that killed a Marine and wounded four others in Maguindanao’s Datu Hoffer town.

The blast hit the convoy of the 5^th Military Company of the Marine Battalion Landing Team 5 in the village of Lipongo. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, which occurred two days after army soldiers recovered an explosive in nearby Mamasapano town, also in Maguindanao.

Sulu and Maguindanao are part of the restive Muslim autonomous region where pro-ISIS groups are fighting the government for the establishment of a caliphate.

Last month, two women - one of them an Indonesian militant - blew themselves near a military truck and killed several soldiers and civilians, and left scores of villagers wounded in what the military claimed was the handiwork of the Abu Sayyaf, whose leaders pledged allegiance to ISIS.  The notorious group claimed responsibility for the blasts. (Mindanao Examiner)

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