Foreigners carried out twin Jolo blasts
Credit to Author: DEMPSEY REYES| Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2019 16:18:12 +0000
THE MILITARY now believes the twin explosions at Jolo Cathedral on Sunday were carried out by two foreign suicide bombers who came from Indonesia in December and linked up with the Ajang-Ajang subgroup of the notorious Abu Sayyaf.
An intelligence source, who requested anonymity, said the foreigners, a man and a woman, came into contact with the group controlled by Hatib Sawadjaan, whose Ajang-Ajang subgroup, composed of members in their 20s to 30s, ran errands for the Abu Sayyaf kidnap and terror group.
“Though the source [of the information] is unsure of their nationality but they are sure to be foreigners and not locals,” the source, a military official based in Mindanao, said.
“They are suspected to be suicide bombers,” he added
This was because two sets of body parts, completely mangled, were still unclaimed and unidentified, the source said.
Based on eyewitness accounts, the woman brought the bag containing the bomb, and placed it on one of the pews. The woman detonated it from a distance.
“The second IED (improvised explosive device) was believed to have been detonated by the man himself with the bag attached to his body,” the source said.
Col. Noel Detoyato, military public affairs chief, confirmed that the two sets of body parts were recovered by authorities in Jolo.
Detoyato said there were parts of a head, scalp and jaw, among others.
“There were pieces of body parts and it is not yet determined if it’s the whole body of a single person,
since these body parts were apparently shredded,” he added.
The two sets of body parts were recovered 50 meters away from the blast site where the second explosion occurred.
The second explosion is being eyed as a case of suicide bombing perpetrated by the Ajang-Ajang group.
Photos from Detoyato showed shredded body parts scattered all over the church entrance, walls, pews, the floor and the area in front of the main entrance.
President Rodrigo Duterte first came up with a conclusion that the deadly twin explosions that killed 21 persons were carried out through a suicide bombing.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana had said the first bomb was planted inside the church, and the second explosion might be considered as a case of suicide bombing.
Lorenzana said he had received information that the couple was from Yemen.
Gov. Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) visited 36 of the wounded victims of the cathedral blasts and gave them P20,000 for their medical needs, according to ARMM Social Welfare Secretary Laisa Alamia.
A total of P400,000 was also earmarked as initial assistance for the victims of the twin bombings and another P500,000 for the repair of the damaged cathedral, according to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in the ARMM.
Encounter in Patikul
Government security forces encountered members of the Ajang-Ajang in Patikul, Sulu, amid an effort to pulverize Abu Sayyaf members as ordered by the President.
Col. Gerry Besana, spokesman of the military’s Western Mindanao Command (WestMinCom), said the clashes transpired at 7:20 a.m. on Thursday, with the firefight lasting about five minutes.
About 20 Ajang-Ajang members were involved in the encounter.
The bandits fled but they were pursued by the Scout Ranger’s 1st Battalion.
No casualties were recorded.
Alamia said dozens of families displaced by the military offensives were provided food aid.
“So far, the DSWD-ARMM has monitored around 62 families displaced from Barangay Bungkaong and Latih in Patikul. We have started distributing relief goods to the IDPs or internally displaced persons.
The number of IDPs is expected to increase in the coming days. The DSWD ARMM will continue to provide assistance to the IDPs until they can safely return to their homes,” she said.
Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan 2nd dispatched social workers to look into the welfare of the displaced villagers. He ordered the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council to distribute relief goods to those affected by the military campaign.
On Thursday, Tan along with security officials, also met with representatives of different sectors in Sulu and discussed the ongoing military campaign and guidelines on checkpoints and strict implementation of martial law in the province.
4 persons of interest cleared
The Philippine National Police (PNP) cleared the initial four persons of interest in the Jolo Cathedral blasts after they came to authorities and proved their innocence.
Senior Supt. Bernard Banac, PNP spokesman, told reporters that Alshaber Arbi, Gerry Isnajil, Alshimar Mohammad Albi and Julius Abdulzam Albi were finally removed from the list of persons of interest.
The four were seen in security footages running away from Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral after the twin blasts.
“They gave sworn affidavits yesterday to authorities saying they have no involvement [in the bombings].
After verification of their identity, authorities ruled that they were telling the truth and they were eventually freed from police custody,” Banac said.
Arbi is a Grade 11 student of Kalingalan Caluang National High School and Isnajil a teacher in the same school.
The Albis told authorities they were just buying medicine in a nearby pharmacy for Alshimar’s mother who was confined at a hospital in Sulu when the explosion happened.
The four surrendered to the police out of fear of being hunted down by authorities.
Banac said police were still looking for a suspect named Kamah, after he evaded arrest on January 29.
WITH AL JACINTO IN ZAMBOANGA CITY AND ROY D.R. NARRA
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