Zamboanga security heightened after twin bombings

From the Mindanao Examiner (Nov 10): Zamboanga security heightened after twin bombings



Facial composite of the alleged Zamboanga bomber. (Mindanao Examiner)

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Police and military authorities have tightened security in Zamboanga City on Monday following two bomb explosions at a massage parlor and karaoke bar that injured a member of the police bomb squad.

Police also released the facial composite of the alleged bomber based on the description of several witnesses. The mayor of Zamboanga, Maria Isabelle Salazar, offered a P50,000 to anyone who can provide information leading to the apprehension of the bomber.

Officials said PO2 Franklin Manuel Ined, Sr. was rushed to the hospital after sustaining shrapnel wounds from the explosion late Sunday. The police was inspecting the explosive inside the Deluxe Massage and Karaoke Bar at Tomas Claudio Street when it went off. Two explosions were reported in the first and second floors of the bar.

The blast occurred just as security forces deployed more personnel to guard some 7,500 who are attending the week-long Centennial Jamboree in Zamboanga City.

Police have cordoned off the blast site shortly after the explosions and forensic experts recovered pieces of electrical wiring, dry cell and shrapnel believed to be parts of the bombs left inside the bar. Traces of ammonium nitrate were also found at the scene.

The military’s Western Mindanao Command, citing an initial report, said the explosives were concealed in a cardboard box. It was not immediately known how the bomber managed to smuggle the improvised explosives in the bar.

The mayor has assured the safety of scouters who are camping out at the sprawling compound of the Zamboanga City Economic and Freeport Zone in San Ramon village where armed soldiers and policemen, backed by armored vehicles, were guarding them.

“The public is advised to stay calm, but vigilant and report suspicious persons or bags and other items to (emergency telephones) 117 or 166. Authorities are in control of the situation, that the city, particularly the Boy Scouts of the Philippines jamboree participants are safe and sound. The blast site is over 20 kilometers away from the jamboree site in Ecozone,” she said.

Heroism

Police have praised the heroism of Ined, a member of the Zamboanga City Public Safety Company, who is a K9 dog handler. Ined, who sustained multiple shrapnel wounds on the different parts of his body, is now in stable condition, according to Inspector Dahlan Samuddin, the regional police spokesman.

He said Ined, unmindful of the dangers and hazards of his job, put his own life at risk to protect and save others. And so were other members of the bomb squad who quickly responded to an emergency call.

Samuddin said a worker at the bar phoned the police about the suspicious boxes left there. He said the quick response of the local police personnel to the incident prevented further damage and injuries.

He said Chief Superintendent Edgar Basbas, the regional police commander, assured that Ined will get full medical assistance and the police would also shoulder all other expenses incurred during his confinement.

“The Police Regional Office 9 urges the public to continuously support the authorities by providing timely and relevant information, particularly those that concerns about public and safety of the region,” Samuddin said.

Officials could not say if the twin explosions were the handiwork of Abu Sayyaf militants or a deliberate attack to shame the administration of Salazar as investigation is continuing. No individual or group claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Last month, police bomb squad also disrupted an improvised explosive abandoned at the Plaza Pershing also in downtown Zamboanga. The explosive was hidden in a thermos that contained nails and ammonium nitrate, a banned chemical fertilizer widely used by rebels in the manufacture of homemade bombs.

The Abu Sayyaf, blamed by authorities to the spate of bombings and killings in the southern Philippines, has recently pledged allegiance to the jihadist group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

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