MANILA (UCAN): Military experts in the Philippines have diffused three homemade bombs found on the premises of two Catholic churches in Jolo, Sulu province, Mindanao. The bombs, suspected to have been planted by the terrorist group, Abu Sayyaf, were spotted on December 15 on the patio of San Roque and San Isidro parishes,
Jolo has been the target of suicide bombings in recent years.
“Two of our ground policemen were informed of some cartons lying near the church door. We isolated the area and called bomb experts,” Raymond Durado, a police colonel said.
Durado said the bombs were packed in an identical manner inside cigarette cartons.
“They looked almost the same, the same tape was used, the same packaging, so it was obvious that they all came from the same source,” he added.
The bomb experts who defused the weapons said they carried the imprint of Abu Sayyaf operatives who have been behind several suicide bombings in the region.
The Philippines’ Anti-Terrorism Council pointed a finger at Mundi Sawadjaan as the primary suspect.
“Sawadjaan is a unit leader and bomb maker of the Abu Sayyaf group operating in the Sulu province of southern Philippines. He was trained by the IS [Islamic State] and trains others in the Philippines,” Justice secretary, Jose Crispin Remulla, told reporters on December 15.
However, Remulla wasn’t sure if the bombs were meant to detonate or “merely frighten Christians” who were about to celebrate the novena Masses leading up to Christmas.
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“Nevertheless, whoever made them will face the criminal consequences of their actions,” the justice secretary added.
The Apostolic Vicariate of Jolo thanked the military and police for their prompt response.
“We thank our authorities for their swift action to make our people safe. Muslim or Christians, Christmas or Ramadan, violence and terrorism have no place in a civilised society… We are all brothers and sisters, we are all Filipinos,” Bishop Charlie Inzon of Jolo said.
Bishop Inzon urged people to be agents of peace, not just during the Christmas season but in their everyday lives.
Local Catholics were reminded of the two bombs that exploded at the Cathedral of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the same province killing 20 people and injuring 102 others on 27 January 2019.
Later, in 2020, a male suicide bomber dressed in women’s attire blew himself up near a police station killing seven civilians and injuring 22 others.
