Military eyes IS-linked man in Lanao tower bombing
CRIPPLED GRID | A bomb explosion on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022, toppled this power transmission tower at Barangay Bagumbayan in Kauswagan, Lanao de Norte province, cutting electricity supply in the entire Zamboanga Peninsula (Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur, and the cities of Dipolog, Dapitan, Pagadian and Zamboanga), Misamis Occidental, and parts of Lanao del Norte. Restoration may take days and authorities have yet to pinpoint who’s responsible. (Photo by RICHEL V. UMEL / Inqurier Mindanao)
ILIGAN CITY, Lanao del Norte, Philippines — The military has attributed to “terrorists” the downing of a power pylon in Lanao del Norte on Monday afternoon.
Brig. Gen. Rey Alemania, commander of the Army’s 2nd Mechanized Infantry Brigade, told the Inquirer that a suspect in the bombing of Tower No. 8 of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) at Barangay Bagumbayan in Kauswagan town was found to be a member of the local terror group Dawlah Islamiyah.
The group, which has links to the Islamic State (IS), took part in the five-month siege of Marawi City in 2017. The only other attack by IS-linked militants in Lanao del Norte was on Jan. 14, 2021, when they ambushed off-duty soldiers in the hinterland town of Pantao-Ragat, killing three troopers and a resident.
The blast occurred around 4:50 p.m. on Monday. The toppled pylon propped up a 138-kilovolt transmission line that wheels power to Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte, Misamis Occidental, and some parts of Lanao del Norte and Zamboanga City.
Suspect dead
Immediately after the blast was reported, policemen and soldiers went to the area and found the suspected bomber, who was seriously injured, near the downed pylon. He was holding a mobile phone, which Alemania suspected to have been used as the triggering device.
Article continues after this advertisementA military personnel, who asked not to be identified, told the Inquirer that the suspect was chanting “Allahu Akbar” (God is great) as he struggled before he died.
Article continues after this advertisementThe government took the man’s remains to a funeral parlor at the Kauswagan town center and were later claimed by relatives. Kauswagan Vice Mayor Maximo Arnado Jr. said the suspected bomber, whom he did not name, was buried in Muslim rites in a remote village of the town.
Alemania said their database showed that the suspected bomber was from Lanao del Sur, although the Army official declined to identify him.Brig. Gen. Antonio Nafarrete, commander of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division, said that initial probe showed some fragments of a 60mm mortar shell in the blast site which indicated it was the main material of the improvised explosive device used in the attack.
Brig. Gen. Arturo Rojas, commander of the Western Mindanao Command, said the bomb was a “command-detonated” type, meaning a person controls the initiation of the explosion.
Energized
He said the suspected bomber being hurt in the blast could be accidental.
The NGCP said the transmission affected by the tower bombing was “successfully restored and energized” early Wednesday.
While the downed tower is being restored amid tight security by the Army and police, an emergency restoration system was installed to prop up the transmission line.
Seven electric cooperatives that experienced partial power interruption due to the incident have resumed normal operations, the National Electrification Administration said.
