Eight others injured
(Eagle News)–At least ten people were confirmed dead after a bomb exploded in a van in a checkpoint in Lamitan, Basilan on Tuesday, July 31.
Col. Edgar Arevalo, Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson, said those killed were five members of the Citizen Armed Forces Geographical Unit, four “dependents” and one soldier.
Eight were reportedly injured.
“The suspect detonated the bomb sensing danger he will be captured,” local official Mujiv Hataman told AFP.
But Arevalo said it was also possible the bomb was detonated by a cellphone used by one of the CAFGU members.
Because all those who had contact with the bomb have died, Arevalo said the terms “suicide bombing” and “lone wolf attack” for this case should not be used.
He said it was also unclear if the man in the van was foreign-looking.
Abu Sayyaf
According to Arevalo, what was clear was that the military had received information the Abu Sayyaf would deploy an improvised explosive device in the area, prompting authorities to intensify their checkpoints.
He said based on a conversation with Wesmincom commander Lt. Gen. Arnel dela Vega, the person behind the attack was Furuji Indama, an Abu Sayyaf leader based in Basilan.
One of those who led the siege in Marawi last year was also a member of the Abu Sayyaf, Isnilon Hapilon.
According to Arevalo, Indama was “losing ground” in the area, prompting him to resort to the “desperate move.”
The attack took place after President Rodrigo Duterte signed the Bangsamoro Organic Law, which is hoped to address the problems long-besetting Mindanao, and after he urged the Abu Sayyaf to surrender and talk peace instead.
Basilan is a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf group, an Al-Qaeda-linked group blamed for the archipelago’s deadliest bombings.
It is among several armed groups fighting government forces in the southern Philippines in decades-long rebellion that has claimed more than 100,000 lives by government count.
President Rodrigo Duterte recently signed a law to create greater Muslim autonomy in the south which is hoped to end the conflict. Mar Gabriel with Agence France Presse
