Cops, alert civilians foil bombing in Maguindanao

DATU ODIN SINSUAT, Maguindanao – Alert civilians suspicious of an abandoned motorbike in front of a police station in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao, prevented what could have been a bloody market day for local residents on Sunday evening.

Chief Supt. Graciano Mijares, police director for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (PRO-ARMM), said the black motorbike, bearing no license plate, was suspiciously parked in front of the town’s police office located beside the national highway and across the town’s public market and town hall here.

Bomb experts, using K-9 bomb-sniffing dogs, confirmed it was rigged with an improvised explosive device (IED) and immediately deactivated it, according to Mijares.

Mijares said market vendors preparing for Monday’s market day noticed the motorbike around 6 p.m. Sunday and tipped off the police about the matter.

It was found a stone’s throw away from the municipal police office and the town hall. Made of black powder, mobile phone, cut nails and cut metal sheets, the IED was placed underneath the plastic coverings of the motorbike and not the usual motor’s utility box that is frequently inspected at road checkpoints.

Mijares believed the IED was to be set off early Monday when people are busy in the market with vendors displaying their wares by the roadside. He lauded the residents for their vigilance.

Police and military forces have been on heightened alert in Maguindanao, North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat since the twin bombings in Isulan town that killed five and injured 48 others.

On Friday, three BIFF members were killed and two others were injured in a clash with government forces in Datu Montawal, Maguindanao.

Brigadier Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, 6th Infantry Division commander, said the Army was responding to reports by civilians about the impending transport of three IEDs to be set off in Kabacan, North Cotabato when the firefight erupted at 3 p.m.

More checkpoints have been established along major highways across the three provinces since the Aug. 28 and Sept. 2 bombings in Isulan. (PNA)