Sayyafs bomb Basilan bridge

From the Mindanao Examiner (Mar 31, 2021): Sayyafs bomb Basilan bridge

Abu Sayyaf terrorists bombed a bridge at dawn Wednesday in Basilan province, one of the major strongholds of the pro-ISIS group in the volatile Muslim autonomous region in southern Philippines.

The blast failed to destroy the bridge that links several villages in Sumisip town. The attack occurred after the bridge’s contractor allegedly failed to pay extortion money to the Abu Sayyaf.

The terrorist group has sent a letter to the project contractor and demanded money, according to authorities. No other details were made available by the police and military, but they linked the bombing to the group of Abu Sayyaf commander Pasil Bayali.

The Abu Sayyaf has been largely blamed for the spate of deadly attacks and series of bombings in Basilan over the last decade.

In October 2019, government forces thwarted planned attacks by Abu Sayyaf terrorists under Furuji Indama to bomb the circumferential road in the province following a clash with gunmen in the village called Calang Canas in Maluso town and troops had recovered 6 improvised explosives.

But a suicide attack a year earlier by Moroccan ISIS fighter Abu Katheer al Maghribi in Basilan’s Lamitan City left over a dozen casualties. Authorities said 11 people were killed when a car bomb exploded at a security checkpoint in Bulanting village, about 2 kilometers away from downtown Lamitan.

The powerful explosion obliterated the vehicle and left a huge crater and among those killed were a woman and a child; and the militia commander whose unit is under the supervision of the Philippine Army. Five soldiers and several civilians were also wounded in the explosion. (Mindanao Examiner)

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