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MILITARY intelligence operatives manage to prevent a
bomb attack in Sultan Kudarat after having intercepted the bomber
shortly after midnight Sunday.
Eastern Mindanao Command
Spokesman Maj. Armand Rico said that members of the Intelligence
Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippine (ISAFP) arrested Arman
Mano, who admitted to being a member of the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front (MILF) bomb squad, at around 12:15 a.m. in Talayan,
Maguindanao.
During interrogation Mano
admitted that he assembled the improvised explosive device, an 81 mm
mortar with a 3315 Nokia cellphone as triggering device.
“The bomber was targeting a van
terminal in Isulan town, Sultan Kudarat and the bomb was scheduled
to be planted and detonated anytime that day, but he was intercepted
by ISAFP,” Rico said.
The military is still verifying
if he is really a member of the MILF as it could be considered as a
violation of the ceasefire agreement and follow-up operations are
still being conducted.
As for the motive behind the
planned bomb attack, Rico said, the suspect admitted that they are
doing it to express their grievances regarding the delay in the
peace process between the MILF and the Philippine government.
Apart from the peace talks angle,
Rico said the military is also looking at the possibility of
extortion and a business angle.
At present, Mano is undergoing
custodial interrogation at the Sixth Infantry Division while charges
of illegal possession and manufacture of explosives will be filed
against him.
Talks between the GRP and the
MILF remain stall because of the issue on ancestral domain.
The MILF has launched several
offensives in Mindanao resulting in casualties but the military
maintained that it will maintain its defensive posture and remain
sincere on the on going talks.
The government forces will also
bring the case before the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation
and Hostilities to prevent matters from getting worse.
--Jefferson Antiporda
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