COTABATO CITY, Philippines – The military has blamed the Al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah for Tuesday’s bomb explosion in Cotabato City that killed one person and left at least 10 others wounded.
Lieutenant Colonel Prudencio Asto, spokesman of the 6th Infantry Division, said the attack was carried out by students of slain terrorist Basit Usman of the Indonesia-based terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah.
“The attack was staged by Usman’s students. There were intelligence reports last month that they were planning to carry out attacks in the region,” Asto said.
“The way they detonated the bomb, the kind of bomb they used plus the triggering mechanism are the signature of the Basit Usman group. That’s the indication found out by our experts,” he added.
The homemade bomb, attached to a motorcycle, was fashioned from four 81-millimeter mortar shells with a mobile phone as triggering device, Asto said.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The bombing occurred during the second day of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan.
Government and religious leaders denounced the attack.
Cotabato Mayor Japal Guiani Jr. and Vice Mayor Muslimin Sema, known to be arch-political rivals, were one in condemning the attack.
Both Guiani and Sema, in separate statements, said they considered the perpetrators as evil-doers and enemies of Islam.
The mayor, who voluntarily offered an unspecified “cash reward” for information leading to the arrest of the culprit, called on the people to unite for the resolution of the case and thwart future terror attacks.
“Thou shall not kill is a commandment from Allah that we should strongly adhere to,” said Muslim professor Ustadz Jaafar Ali.
“It is not true that killing innocent civilians or infidels [unbelievers] would lead one to heaven,” said Ali, who is also president of the National Ulama Council of the Philippines.
As an active member of the Dharul Ifta [house of opinion], Ali said taking one’s life may be justified only in self-defense.