The Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for the twin bombings in Jolo, Sulu that claimed the lives of 15 persons and injured scores of others, a US-based organization that monitors online communications among Muslim militant groups said.
The IS East Asia province had issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attacks, SITE Intelligence Group posted on its website with the headline “IS supporters celebrate deadly Jolo, Sulu bombings.”
Military officials said known operatives of the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group — which has pledged allegiance to IS — under commander Mundi Sawadjaan were behind the blasts, carried out by female suicide bombers.
Joint Task Force Sulu commander Brig. Gen. William Gonzales said Wednesday they were pursuing other members of Abu Sayyaf believed to had carried out the bombings.
“All efforts are focused on finding and perhaps neutralizing this Abu Sayyaf group, to once and for all put them to justice,” he said.
On Tuesday, Army chief Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana identified the female bombers as Nanah and Inda Nay, who were both Filipino, and not Indonesian as earlier reported.
In a text message to reporters, Sobejana said Nanah was the wife of Norman Lasuca, who is considered the Philippines’ first homegrown suicide bomber.
Lasuca and another attacker blew themselves up outside a military camp on Jolo in June 2019, killing several soldiers and civilians.
Inda Nay was the wife of Talha Jumsah, also known as Abu Talha, who acted as liaison between Abu Sayyaf and the Islamic State group. He was killed in November in a shoot-out with security forces on Jolo.
Meanwhile, military officials are pressing President Rodrigo Duterte to put the entire Sulu province under martial law following the deadly twin blasts in the Muslim-majority Bangsamoro autonomous region early Monday, Malacanang said.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Duterte continues to listen to the personnel on the ground, but the recommendation still has to pass the scrutiny of both the legislative and judiciary branches.
Sobejena and Philippine National Police chief, Gen. Archie Gamboa have both called for military rule in Sulu, but Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has rejected the former’s request.
“There will be no martial law,” Lorenzana said late Tuesday.
Also, Senator Panfilo Lacson, a former PNP chief, said Congress will reject any request for a declaration of martial law if no evidence that an invasion or rebellion in underway.
In an online interview, Lacson said terrorism is not a justification for imposing martial law in Sulu. He said the situation in Marawi City was a clear case of rebellion, so martial law was imposed.
IS supporters across the globe are “rejoicing” over the casualties, which included seven soldiers, a policeman and six civilians, as a result of the bombings, SITE added.
Founded by Rita Katz, the firm claims it is the world’s leading non-governmental counterterrorism organization specializing in tracking and analyzing online activity of the global extremist community.
Listed by the United States as a terrorist organization, Abu Sayyaf is a loose network of Islamist militants blamed for the Philippines’ worst terror attacks as well as kidnappings of foreign tourists and Christian missionaries.
“There will have to be notice given to Congress… [which] will have to be satisfied with both the legal and factual basis for the declaration,” Roque said in a TV interview. “And this is without prejudice to the judicial review on both the factual and legal considerations for the imposition of martial law.”
The President needs to be very careful in assessing the recommendation because there should be a “legal and factual” basis to declare military rule in Sulu, Roque said.
Martial law was lifted in the region at the end of 2019, two-and-a-half years after it was imposed to fight militants.
It is unclear why the President failed to mention the twin bombings in Jolo in his public address on Monday, but Roque said that Duterte has already directed the top officials of the AFP and the PNP during a joint command conference to take appropriate actions.
“The fact that the President did not say anything, it’s probably because he has given the necessary orders to the top brass of the AFP and the PNP, and you don’t discuss what you intend to do as far as the situation on the ground is concerned publicly,” Roque said.
“The command conference was confidential in nature. I was not even allowed to sit through the meeting,” he added.
Senator Risa Hontiveros said that there must be a full investigation into the twin bombing incidents in Jolo, Sulu, and the possible connection to the killing of four soldiers by nine Jolo policemen in June.
She called for the relief of the entire Jolo police fore to pave the way for a thorough, transparent investigation.
She said that the investigation into the Jolo blasts should also touch upon the deaths of the four army intelligence operatives who were shot and killed by PNP officers. The said the operatives were reportedly tracking the two female suicide bombers who likely committed the twin bombing incidents in Jolo.
Earlier, Western Mindanao Command (WestminCom) chief Lt. Gen. Corleto Vinluan told lawmakers that there may be a possible conspiracy between some police officers in Sulu and terrorist organizations due to family ties.
Hontiveros also said that the investigation should cover the fact that local police — and even PNP officials — knew about the presence and the identity of the soldiers when they were stopped at a checkpoint in Jolo.
She said her sources also revealed that the soldiers, who were closing in on the possible location of the suicide bombers at the time, in fact wanted to implement a house-to-house search with the PNP and local barangay officials to find the house being rented by the bombers.
Monday’s explosions happened near a Catholic cathedral on Jolo where two suicide bombers blew themselves up in January 2019 killing 21 people. That attack was blamed on a group linked to Abu Sayyaf.
Suicide attacks were once very rare in the Philippines, but since July 2018 there have been five, including the latest blasts.
Sobejana on Wednesday honored the eight soldiers who died in the Jolo blasts, and identified them as Staff Sgts. Louie Cuarteros, and Manuelito Oria, Pvts. Omair Muksan, Juvienjay Emalani, John Ray Paler, Aiub Sahid, James Apolinario, all belonging to the 21st Infantry Battalion and Pvt. John Agustin from the 35th Infantry Battalion.
“To the bereaved families of our troops, we extend our deepest condolences. Rest assured that the Army is here to help and is ready to extend the necessary assistance,” Sobejana said.
The soldiers were patrolling the streets of the Walled City in Jolo town proper when two female suicide bombers detonated improvised explosives killing them on the spot and wounding 21 other soldiers. Six civilians were also killed in the incident.
AFP Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gilbert Gapay said the Abu Sayyaf would not stop the military from bringing an end to their violence.
“Our troops on the ground continue to be on high alert to deter similar attacks,” Gapay said.
“No sensible religion or ideology would ever endorse these… attacks,” he added.
Lt. Gen. Jose Faustino Jr., said he had already directed all military commanders to ramp up “their security operations to prevent the possible spillover of the incident in different areas with Eastern Mindanao.
Meanwhile, a forensics team from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) left for Jolo, Sulu, to investigate the twin bombings that rocked the island on Monday.
The NBI said they would assist security forces in determining the identity of the bombers responsible for the twin explosions Monday that killed at least 15 people.
According to NBI officer-in-charge Eric Distor, a team of five to seven members with a background in forensics were deployed in Jolo.
Aside from recovering DNA samples from the suspected perpetrators, the team would also gather and analyze the fragments of the bomb in the area and determine the type of explosives used.
The explosions, believed to have been set off by suicide bombers, killed at least 15 people including eight soldiers, six civilians, a policeman and the suicide bomber, and wounded five others.
Also on Wednesday, the Commission on Human Rights said any declaration of martial law in Sulu must be “guided [by] the principles of necessity.”
“Should the government decide to proceed with such a proposal, we hope that declaration of martial law will be guided with the principles necessity and proportionality of the threat identified; limited to an area where it is needed, such as Sulu; and with full respect for human rights as the basis for protecting the people against the harms of unpeace and armed conflicts,” commission spokeswoman Jacqueline Ann de Guia said.
She said martial law remains to be an extraordinary measure reserved for extraordinary circumstances under the 1987 Constitution.
“Time and again, the CHR has constantly advised the government against the normalization of martial law as a default response to threats to national safety,” she said.
“We continue to condemn terroristic acts and its horrors, especially to innocent, unsuspecting victims,” she added.