Military foils ASG-JI terror plot with attack on IED-making unit in Basilan

From InterAksyon (Aug 9): Military foils ASG-JI terror plot with attack on IED-making unit in Basilan

An alleged plan of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) to carry out bombings in parts of Mindanao was foiled with a six-hour military offensive on a unit that was in charge of making improvised explosive devices (IED), a Basilan-based military official said.

The foiled plot would have come on the heels of a rash of bombings in Mindanao, which killed 16 people in just two of the incidents, in Cagayan de Oro and Cotabato City, and prompted a meeting of the Cabinet security cluster and a Senate hearing on failure of intelligence by State security forces.

According to Col. Carlito Galvez, commander of the Army’s 104th Infantry Brigade, “We received reports that they (ASG-JI) were making improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Our main objective was to find and get them especially the IEDs.”

Soldiers attacked the ASG-JI team of around 70 armed men in Barangay Makalang, Albarka, Basilan, and a firefight ensued from 4 a.m. to 10 a.m. Thursday, which resulted in the death of one soldier and the wounding of three others.

Authorities are verifying reports that there were 7 fatalities on the ASG-JI side.

Galvez said they received information that "at least three known ASG commanders were in the target place. They are Isnilon Hapilon, Puruji Indama, and Kair Mundos.

Their group was there manufacturing IEDs because immediately after ‘Ariraya’ Ramadan, they will launch attacks either in Tipo-Tipo or Unkaya Pukan or conduct bombings in Isabela City or Zamboanga City." The bombing attacks were to have been carried out 8am Friday, per information received by authorities earlier.

Last Wednesday, Abu Sayyaf bandits attacked a military detachment in Albark, but no casualty was reported on either side.

In all, five bombings have occurred in Mindanao, starting with the July 26 blast in Cagayan de Oro City that killed 8 people and injured a dozen others. A deadly car bombing last Monday in Cotabato City killed 8 more people, including two boys and a police officer, and injured 3 others. The city mayor earlier told police he suspected organized crime syndicates to have put out a contract onhim and his sister, the city administrator, for their campaign on crime groups.  The police probers, however, are not ruling out other angles, including terrorism.

Last Wednesday, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) attacked a government unit and injured 7 soldiers in Shariff Saydona, followed by the bombing of a bridge in Datu Piang, both in Maguindanao. An IED also exploded near a radio station and a Lhuillier pawnshop in Midsayap, North Cotabato.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/68249/military-foils-asg-ji-terror-plot-with-attack-on-ied-making-unit-in-basilan