Police finds more weight on terrorism as against extortion as motive of Kidapawan City blasts

By Ronron
October 6, 2007

Local police investigators and the military consider terrorism to be a more probable motive behind the twin explosions on Friday night in Kidapawan City, North Cotabato that killed a child and wounded 32 others, compared to extortion.

According to Kidapawan City Police investigator PO1 Conrado Abalos, Jr., establishments near the blast sites have denied receiving any extortion demand from certain groups, such as the Al-Khobar Group, prior to the incident that happened at around 7pm the other day.

The establishments include the Sugni Superstore, the Share Marketing (an appliance shop), and the Imperial Plaza Appliance Center, all located along Quezon Boulevard at the city proper.

“We could not say it (motive of explosions) is extortion because there are no threats or demand letters prior to the incident. It was just set off at a crowded place so there was no clear target or motive. And that’s a character of terrorism,” Abalos said in Filipino a phone interview Saturday.

“It could be perpetrated by local contacts of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) based on the city’s history. Basically, it’s a job of terrorists who are the only perpetrators of bombings,” added Army 6th Infantry Division spokesman Lt. Col. Julieto Ando.

Abalos said bomb experts both from the police and the Army have recovered parts of a 60 mm mortar from the blast sites, located 50 meters apart from each other. He said it is suspected that the explosive devices were triggered by a mobile phone.

Each of the devices were placed inside a plastic bag, and blew off five minutes apart, he said.

Asked if it could be perpetrated by the JI, the Southeast Asian cell of Osama Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda network that has already penetrated the Philippines, Abalos said: “That is the subject of the investigation, although for the past three years since I was assigned here, there are no confirmed first-hand handiworks of the JI.”

Abalos disclosed that a man who was initially suspected to have been the one seen leaving the explosives was held by police, but turned out to be innocent.

He said that after questioning the man overnight, he was released at around 7am yesterday after finding out he was seen running away to avoid getting hurt.

Police identified the killed victim as Ana Mae Losada, 10, a resident of said city, who was reportedly accompanying her mother sell fruits near the Sugni Superstore.

The wounded victims, on the other hand, were brought to the Kidapawan Medical Specialist Center, the Kidapawan Doctor’s Hospital, Inc., the Kidapawan City Health Hospital, and the Madonna General Hospital, Inc. for medical treatment.

Among the injured are at least nine minors, the youngest of whom is a three-year-old girl. The oldest among the wounded, on the other hand, is a 54-year-old woman.

Aside from inflicting casualties, Abalos said the explosions also damaged six vehicles parked near the blast sites.

Abalos said the city police immediately raised its alert to full status after the incident./DMS