Two suspected bombers killed in blast

KIDAPAWAN CITY—Two suspected bombers were killed here Friday when the improvised explosive device (IED) they were trying to plant went off prematurely, authorities said.

Senior Superintendent Cornelio Salinas, North Cotabato police director, said the suspects were trying to plant the IED in front of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), near the provincial capitol in Barangay (village) Amas, when it exploded 12:57 a.m.

Salinas identified the suspected bombers as Manampan Demalin of Pagalungan Maguindanao and Kalim Indigay of East Patadon, Kidapawan City.

Demalin’s body, he said, was ripped apart because of the intensity of the blast while Indigay died a few moments after being rushed to the Cotabato Provincial Hospital, also in Barangay Amas.

“He was the one carrying the IED,” Salinas said, explaining Demalin’s fate.

He said it was fortunate that the IED went off as the office was still closed.

“If the explosion took place during busy hours, there might have been many casualties,” Salinas said, adding that the said portion of the highway also serves as drop-off and pickup point for public utility vehicles.

Salinas said based on the statement that Indigay gave before he died, the IED was intended for the NIA office.

“Somebody instructed them to plant the bomb in front of the NIA office. However, it exploded prematurely,” he said.

Salinas said Indigay also provided them the identity of the mastermind, but the police were still withholding it.

The NIA office is adjacent to the Commission on Audit (COA) suboffice, where an IED fashioned from a 60-millimeter shell, exploded in July.

The North Cotabato Police Provincial Office is now investigating whether the two separate incidents were related, Salinas said.

Previous bombings in North Cotabato had been blamed on Moro rebels.

But the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) had repeatedly denied involvement in the attacks, saying it was against terrorism.

In Maguindanao, armed clashes between MILF rebels and those from the splinter group Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) continued for six days, leaving 18 combatants from both sides dead.

“The fighting continues and hundreds of innocent civilians are suffering,” Brigadier General Ariel Bernardo, head of the government’s Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH), said.

Ghadzali Jaafar, MILF vice chair for political affairs, said they have been urging the two sides to disengage but the BIFF would not listen. With reports from Edwin Fernandez, Charlie Señase and Jeoffrey Maitem, Inquirer Mindanao