COTABATO CITY—Police recovered and safely defused an improvised explosive device from the house of the second batch of suspects of the Sept. 2 Davao City bombing.
Supt. Romeo Galgo Jr. said the discovery of an 81 mm mortar with triggering devices—a battery and a mobile phone—came after the Cotabato City police office received a tip about a bomb in the house of Mohammad Lalaog Chenikandiyil alias Datu Boi in Barangay Rosary Heights 7, Cotabato City.
Galgo said the Cotabato police bomb disposal unit was immediately dispatched to the area and safely defused the bomb.
“The timely information relayed to authorities saved lives,” Galgo said.
Chenikandiyil was one of the four suspects arrested during a joint police and military operation in Barangay Tamontaka and along Ilang-Ilang Street, Cotabato City.
Aside from Chenikandiyil, police also arrested Jackson Mangulamas Usi alias Abu Mansor or Jam; Zack Villanueva Lopez alias Haron; and Ansan Abdulla Mamasapano alias Abu Hamsa, all Cotabato City based members of Maute terror group.
The recovery of IED came hours after President Rodrigo Duterte visited and left the city, where he launched anti-poverty programs.
Recovered during the Saturday morning operation were several pistols and ammunition, a handheld radio with charger, three 60mm mortars, a 105mm Howitzer shell and a hand grenade.
The Davao City night market bombing in September left 15 people dead and wounded 60 others.
Police said a dozen individuals were involved in the Davao bombing.