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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Davao blast blamed on ISIS-linked Maute

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THE bomb attack in Davao City that killed 15 people and wounded 70 others was pulled off by a local terrorist group with links to the Islamic State, a former top cop said Wednesday.

Former police intelligence director Rodolfo Mendoza said the Daulat-ul Islamiya or the Islamic State of Lanao belonging to the Maute Group engineered the Davao blast to gain international prominence and to establish itself as an Asian terror cell.

“It was the handiwork of the IS purposely to fulfill and maintain their status as a provincial state in Asia,” Mendoza said, referring to the Davao City bombing.

VENGEANCE MINE. President Rodrigo Duterte has vowed to personally deal with a group of Islamist militants by publicly—his term—eating them alive. Duterte described in detail how he would carry out his revenge against the group, based on remote jungles in the country’s far south.

Shortly after the bombing, Abu Sayyaf spokesman Muamar Askhali said that the bandit group was responsible for the Davao City attack, but Mendoza dismissed the claim, saying the Abu Sayyaf was never affiliated with the Islamic State.

“Askhali mistakenly admitted to a media entity that it was the Daulat-ul that is responsible for the bomb attack,” he said.

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“Based on our information, the Maute group led by Abdullah was the primary perpetrators of the Davao City bombing,” Mendoza said.

The Maute group operates mainly in Lanao, and was responsible in a weeklong standoff with security forces in Butig town that left hundreds of its member killed.

Aside from being an IS unit, the Maute group also has links to a drug syndicate with tie-ups to Alkhobar terror group responsible for bomb attacks in Mindanao.

“The Davao blast is also connected to narco-terrorism,” Mendoza said.

Earlier, PNP Chief Ronald dela Rosa believed that the Davao attack was connected to narco-terrorism but did not offer any details.

“The Daulat-ul has links to the narcotics group in Ozamis City which is composed of elements of the Alkhobar terror group.,” Mendoza said.

Some of the members of the Alkhobar group connected to the Daulat-ul are former lieutenants of then Moro Islamic Liberation (MILF) chieftain Hashim Salamat. However, they bolted from the organization following the leadership of Al-Hajj Murad Ebrahim and joined the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighter (BIFF), which has links to the Maute group.

In Vientiane, the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations condemned the deadly explosion that rocked Davao City last week.

“We expressed our deepest concerns over the recent terrorist attacks in the region and beyond. In this regard, we extended our heartfelt condolences and sympathies to the families of the victims of the attacks,” the chairman’s statement read. 

“We strongly condemned extremism and terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and reaffirmed our commitment to strengthen coordination and cooperation in countering terrorism through, among others, the implementation of the Asean Convention on Counter Terrorism and the Asean Comprehensive Plan of Action on Counter Terrorism, and addressing the root causes of and conditions conducive for terrorism including violent extremism, including through the promotion of the Global Movement of Moderates.”

In Davao City, the special investigation task group released a composite sketch of the prime suspect of the Sept. 2 bombing.

In a case conference Wednesday afternoon, Police Regional Office 11 director Chief Supt. Manuel Gaerlan said that the composite and computerized sketch of the suspect was based on the description of eight witnesses.

He said the suspect had a 30-minute massage before he left the bag containing the bomb.

Gaerlan described the suspect as fair to dark complexion, small built, about less 30 years old and 5’7 to 5’8 tall.

“Our witnesses can positively identify the suspect even if he is wearing a mask. As blog now we are publishing the sketch to gather more informants, maybe he eat first before he went for a massage,” he said.

Deputy Chief for Operation Chief Supt. Benjamine Magalong said that they also have the composite sketch of the three other persons of interest. These, however, were not shown to the public.

Authorities said they found two kinds of mortar in the blast site at the night market.

SITG spokesperson Chief Inspector Andrea dela Cerna said that a 60mm and 81mm mortar were jointed to a cellphone.

The Philippine National Police said Wednesday it will use thousands of private security guards scattered nationwide as front-liners in the campaign against urban terrorism.

This is in line with the PNP’s implementation of target-hardening measures in malls and other high-traffic civilian areas, with the help of private security agencies.

Brig. Gen. Arnel dela Vega, commander of the Joint Task Force Sulu, said Wednesday the government campaign to eliminate the Abu Sayyaf needs the full support of the local communities where the terrorists hide.

“Local folks are gradually helping in protecting their own communities against the ASG scourge and showing defiance against the bandits,” Dela Vega said.

“We are confident that more people in Sulu including LGU officials, community and religious leaders will cooperate in giving timely and accurate information to stop the un-Islamic and barbaric acts of ASG,” he added.

Col. Rodrigo Gregorio, spokesman of the Joint Task Force Sulu, said two more terrorists were killed in Tuesday’s encounter with government forces in the mountains of Patikul town.

He said the firefight erupted at around 2:35 p.m. after combined troops of the 35th and 21st Infantry Battalions bumped the group of two known ASG sub-leaders identified as Jamiri Jaong Jawhari and Basaron Arok.

“Our troops encountered more or less 30 terrorists and two of them slain. This brings to 32 the total number of terrorists killed in series of firefights after the intensified rescue and focused military operation was ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte,” Gregorio said.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said Wednesday his department is ready to extend the necessary livelihood assistance to victims of the explosion in Davao City last Sept. 2.

During the budget hearing of the Department of Labor and Employment conducted by the House committee on appropriations, Bello said the Labor Department will determine the employment opportunities to be given them based on their capabilities. With John Paolo Bencito, Florante S. Solmerin and Maricel V. Cruz

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