‘Dummy’ IED recovered in Basilan town

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ZAMBOANGA CITY, Zamboanga del Sur – A suspected improvised explosive device (IED) found near a police station in Tipo-Tipo town, Basilan turned out to be a “dummy” bomb meant to only scare, the military said.

Brigadier General Alvin Luzon, commander of the Army’s 101st Infantry Brigade, said they received reports of a suspicious object found a few meters away from the police outpost and was suspected as an improvised bomb.

The object was a plastic bottle fully covered with packaging tape and attached to a keypad-type mobile phone. It was discovered planted adjacent to a police station in Barangay Tipo-Tipo Proper at around 10:20 a.., a day before the Eid’l Fitr celebration.

Luzon said they immediately dispatched a team of ordnance experts and cordoned off the area for civilian safety, establishing several checkpoints within the vicinity.

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“After checking, it was found to be a ‘dummy’ IED. There was no explosive; the plastic bottle contained soil and not powder,” Luzon said.

“Our troops, with the police, are still investigating the incident to determine who planted the object,” Luzon added.

“Whoever was behind this intended to frighten somebody,” he further said.