2 more bombs recovered in Brgy. Sangali, Zamboanga City

MANILA, Philippines—Authorities recovered two improvised explosive devices in Zamboanga City Thursday morning, said Director Felicisimo Khu, chief of the Directorate for Integrated Police Operations in Western Mindanao.

Khu said that the first IED was found inside the Toribio Minigrocery in Barangay Sangali in Zamboanga City at around 8 a.m.

A second IED was later found by police beside the JRJ Toribio Eatery at 10:40 a.m., said the police official, describing the explosives to have been covered in black plastic bags before being placed inside a can.

Both IEDs were made with ammonium nitrate, wires, concrete nails, a timing device, and 9 volt batteries with blasting caps, said Khu.

On Wednesday night, a blast inside an eatery owned by village official Paul Toribio in the same village killed two people and injured many others.

Khu said that a total of three bombs were placed in several areas that night, including the one that blew up in the eatery, another found near the Toribia family’s lotto outlet and another found near a basketball court.

He said that police were now trying to identify the bombers, adding that the Toribio family “has long been targeted” by kidnappers including the group of Waning Abdusalam.

Khu said that investigators were also considering the possibility that rogue MILF groups were behind the bombing attempts.