Sunday, May 31, 2009

Philippine Army blames MILF rebels for spate of bomb attacks in Mindanao

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 31, 2009) – The Philippine Army on Sunday has blamed the country’s largest Muslim rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front as behind the spate of terrorism in the restive region of Mindanao.

Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Ponce, a spokesman for the 6th Infantry Division, said the MILF, whose peace talks with Manila collapsed last year, have been targeting civilians in central Mindanao.

Ponce said the rebels detonated an improvised explosive assembled from a 60mm mortar bomb late Saturday in front of cockpit arena in the village of Salman in Lebak town in Sultank Kudarat province.

He said although there were no reports of casualties, the attack proved the MILF is targeting civilians to sow terror.

“The signature of the improvised explosive device and how it was made is patterned to the handiwork of the special operations groups of the MILF. These groups are desperate that even civilian are not spared,” Ponce told the Mindanao Examiner.
The MILF has denied it was behind the attack.

On Friday, a bomb also destroyed a parked truck in Cotabato City, but there were no casualties. It was unknown if the MILF was behind the blast.

Peace negotiations collapsed in August after Manila reneged on a deal that would grant a separate homeland to some four million Muslims in Mindanao. The Supreme Court said the deal was unconstitutional. (Mindanao Examiner)

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