DND 80% sure Lamitan blast suicide bombing

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the military could now confirm with an “80-percent” chance that the July 31 blast that killed 11 people in Lamitan City, Basilan province, was carried out by a suicide bomber.

In an interview at the Armed Forces headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo on Thursday, Lorenzana said a Moroccan, Abu Khatir Al-Maghribi, drove the van packed with explosives at the Lamitan checkpoint where the vehicle was blown up.

Al-Maghribi was linked to Abu Sayyaf and could possibly be an agent of Islamic State.

He confirmed suspicions that the bomber was headed to the Lamitan plaza to target a bigger crowd. —Jaymee T. Gamil