IED recovered in North Cotabato

From MindaNews (Mar 3): IED recovered in North Cotabato

An improvised explosive device planted near a national road in North Cotabato was successfully defused Tuesday afternoon by Army bomb experts.

In a statement, Capt. Jo-Ann Petinglay, spokesperson of the 6^th Infantry Division said that at 11:40 a.m. a civilian reported having found a suspected IED in Sitio Lotte, Brgy Kayaga, Kabacan town, beside Simuay Hardware.

Petinglay said Kabacan police and troops of the 7^th Infantry Battalion immediately cordoned the area and called for the explosive ordnance team to check on the package which yielded a bomb.

At about 1:45 p.m. the EOD team successfully defused the IED composed of nails, glass shards, wires and a detonating cord.

Col. Noel Clement, 602nd Infantry Brigade commander, said the discovery of the bomb caused the closure of the Cotabato-Davao highway for almost an hour.

Maj. Gen. Edmundo Pangilinan, 6ID commander attributed the discovery of the IED to “growing awareness and concern” that the community had shown.

Pangilinan noted that civilians also reported the presence of a suspected IED in Datu Saudi Ampatuan in Maguindanao on Monday.

Earlier, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, warned to launch attacks in North Cotabato after accusing Gov. Emmy Lou Mendoza of siding with the rival Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

In a statement, Mendoza said the discovery of the IED showed that people are now more vigilant especially in reporting to authorities.

“Be a force multiplier. Let’s maintain this level of cooperation and support to our law enforcers,” she said.

http://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2015/03/03/ied-recovered-in-north-cotabato/