As of this writing, the big blast in Cotabato City last Monday, 5th of August, remains a mystery. No claimant, unlike the series of explosions in Maguindanao that bore the signature of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and confirmed by its spokesperson, Musa Misri.
The PNP identified a nebulous group called Khilafat Islamiyya as responsible for the Cagayan de Oro bombing.
Do the series of bombing incidents bear a common "signature" or is each distinct in the confusing tapestry of "terrorism" in southern Philippines?
To begin with, the more notorious acts of terror are identified with the Abu Sayyaf Group or simply ASG. Its notoriety is known and feared not only in cases of IED blasts but also for kidnapping that have included men and women of religions.
The ASG group is not ONE organization with ONE central leadership. Each group in the ARMM provinces where they operate seems to enjoy relative autonomy, except for big and celebrated cases of kidnapping. These cases appear to be "centralized" in terms of negotiation for ransom.
The ASG group is not ONE organization with ONE central leadership. Each group in the ARMM provinces where they operate seems to enjoy relative autonomy, except for big and celebrated cases of kidnapping. These cases appear to be "centralized" in terms of negotiation for ransom.
Besides the ASG that appears prominently on lists of terrorists, there are groups that are more internationally known like Al Qaeda and Jamaah Islamiyah. The former is associated with the late Saudi engineer, Osama bin Laden, and the latter is associated with the Indonesian movement of the same name headed by Shayk Omar Bashir. There are also lesser known groups. This is true, especially when there is a "local flavor" in the terror movement. The Cagayan de Oro bombing belongs to Khilafat Islamiyya – one local version of the terrorist group identified by the PNP.
The lines that have distinguished one group from the other have been blurred by political agenda. The reading of bombing along local political fault lines has complicated the so-called "war on terror." This is further exacerbated by the government’s counter-insurgency programs that go by many names (Balikatan, PAMANA, etc.)
The bombing along the highway between Buluan and Tacurong is an example that points to rivalries between political dynasties in Maguindanao province. The politically related bombing seems to be obvious and needs no further explanation. The rivalry will continue until the force (physical and logistics) is spent.
The cause-oriented cases of bombing are related to rebellion, and the perpetrators, like the BIFF, claim the bombings. Thus in the latest cases of bombing in Maguindanao that wounded seven soldiers along the highway leading to the municipality of Mustapha Saydona, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters have claimed responsibility. This is true also in practically all the cases of explosions along the highway between Guindolongan municipality and the municipality of Datu Saudi Ampatuan.
From this complex typology of bombing, where do we locate the car bomb in Cotabato City, the first use of a big volume of explosives in this city?
The city mayor, Guiapar Guiani, and his sister, the City Administrator Cynthia Guiani, believe that they were the targets of the car bomb parked close to a busy intersection along the route that they usually take on their way home. The fact that the blast occurred when their convoy was passing through was a clear indication that bolsters their belief. This reading is also shared by the followers of the mayor and people who are knowledgeable about local politics in the city.
On the other hand, there are variances of bomb explosions in Cotabato City in particular and southern Philippines in general. There are bomb explosions that are meant for acoustic purposes. They are not meant to injure but simply to serve warning or to sow confusion. There are bomb explosions that are meant to injure, with a small amount of powder with no shrapnel or nails. Then there are bombs explosions that are meant to do little damage and kill few bystanders that are within the effective range of the bomb.
The latest Cotabato City blast does not belong to anything mentioned above. First the amount of explosives used was meant to cause maximum damage. It was effective, killing eight people (five instantly and three in the hospital); wounding more than 30; damaging three motorcycles and about eight vehicles; and causing fires in four establishments and breaking glass windows.
This is definitely a new type of bombing, more familiar in Iraq, Afghanistan and now Syria.
This is definitely a new type of bombing, more familiar in Iraq, Afghanistan and now Syria.
We have the expertise or we used to have it to analyze (if we have not let this expertise deteriorate, as usual). I am referring to the PNP's Bomb/Explosive Laboratory at Camp Crame. The only problem with PNP expertise is the fact that it is slow and that the PNP on the ground where explosions occur do NOT have the discipline and science to quarrantine evidence for the laboratory analysis.
The authorities should have a database for all types of explosions down south. Ordinance is an exacting science and not a guessing game. Each bomb carries a particular print akin to a finger print. The identifying prints should give us not only the provenance of the bomb and but also the identity of the perpetrators.
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