MANILA, Philippines – The military is eyeing the possibility that trainee members of international terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah may be behind a bomb blast in Mindanao Monday morning, a military spokesman said.
According to Colonel Prudencio Asto, spokesman of the 6th Infantry Division, they suspect that a group of JI bandits, led by Abdul Basit Usman, were behind the bombing incident in front of the provincial satellite auditing office of the Commission on Audit, along the national high way of Amas village in Kidapawan City, Cotabato.
Usman is a member of the JI’s special operations group, and is the bandit group’s explosives expert, Asto said.
He added that the bombing may have been the work of trainees of the bandit group judging from the style, of the attack and the evidence left by the bombers in the site.
Asto said that they are still investigating the matter, but nevertheless said that the military is beefing up the security in the area, including strengthening checkpoints in the province. They will likewise increase their visibility in populated areas like malls, cinemas, and places of worship.
The military has claimed that the al-Queda-linked JI group is affiliated with the local terror group Abu Sayyaf.