Security tight for suspect in Tacurong bombing

TACURONG CITY—Authorities sent more troops outside the detention cell of the main suspect in the Aug. 15 car bomb blast here, which killed two people.

Supt. Danilo Peralta, Sultan Kudarat police director, said police received reports that Karim Masdal will either be “rescued” or liquidated.

“We are on heightened alert here, we are not letting our guard down,” Peralta told reporters.

Heavily-armed members of the police’s Special Action Force and Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT), aided by bomb sniffing dogs, now surround the suspect’s detention center.

The road in front of the police station has been closed to traffic and the road network around the area is now dotted with checkpoints, with Army soldiers providing peripheral security.

Masdal, 33, of Barangay Macasampen, Guindulungan, Maguindanao, was arrested about five minutes after the 3 p.m. blast allegedly aimed at Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu.

A tricycle driver identified Masdal as the man who hurriedly left the bomb-laden KIA car by the roadside and took his tricycle shortly before the explosion.

The witness recalled seeing Masdal using his phone and covering his ears, as if anticipating an explosion, before the blast.

The tricycle driver, Peralta said, “became suspicious and before he could react, a very loud blast happened.”

Police were alerted by the driver. Masdal tried to flee but was caught by policemen near a mall about 100 meters from the blast site.

Maguindanao Board Member Russman Sinsuat Sr. and bystander Raffy Parenas were killed in the blast. Edwin Fernandez, Inquirer Mindanao