Suspected suicide bomber killed in Sulu explosion

Indanan town on Jolo Island in Sulu (Image from Google Maps)

A suspected suicide bomber was killed after attacking an Army detachment in Sulu on Sunday.

The blast occurred at the 35th Infantry Battalion detachment in Barangay Kajatian in Indanan town at 5:45 p.m., Western Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana said in a statement.

The bomber, who was reportedly female and donned an abaya, died after detonating an explosive as she tried to force her way in the detachment but was stopped by security forces.

Sobejana said the bomber was foreign-looking with long hair, but the dismembered hand appeared to be that of a man.

“Report ng guard na naka-black abaya, trying to enter the detachment. And then after that sinigawan nila kasi malaki ang tyan and unusual,” Joint Task Force Sulu spokesperson Lt. Col. Gerard Monfort told reporters.

[The guard reported that she was in a black abaya and was trying to enter the detachment. They shouted at her, seeing that she was an unusually large belly.]

“Sinigawan na huwag pumasok. Nag-take cover na siya. But then yung tropa, nag-occupy na ng fighting position nila and then sumabog na lang bigla,” he added.

[They shouted at her not to enter. Then she took cover. But then the troops also occupied fighting positions and then there was suddenly an explosion.]

Troops who scoured the blast site also recovered the bomb’s trigger mechanism, according to Maj. Arvin John Encinas, Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) spokesperson.

As of this writing, members of the Scene of the Crime Operation are probing the blast area.

Kajatian is the same village where two suicide bombers attacked an Army camp last June, killing eight people and wounding 22 others.

“We call on everyone in Sulu to remain vigilant and to report suspicious items and personalities to authorities,” Encinas said.

This is the fourth suicide bombing attack in the country, which, in all, involved six bombers.

/atm