CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao Norte – A suspected member of Dawlah Islamiya (DI) was blasted to death after an improvised bomb he was carrying prematurely went off Sunday morning in Maguindanao del Sur province.
Major Saber Balogan, Army’s 601st Infantry Brigade spokesperson, said the blast occurred at around 7:30 a.m. in Barangay Sambulawan, Datu Salibo town, Maguindanao del Sur.
Citing an initial Army investigation, Balogan said a certain commander Pagadian of the DI-Torayfe Group died when the suspected improvised explosive device (IED) he was bringing exploded.
No civilian was hurt in the blast that sent jitters to residents of Sambulawan, a populated village of Datu Salibo.
Balogan, in a radio interview, could not say if it was election-related but stressed that local authorities are determining where the victim intended to plant the IED and for what motive.
Datu Salibo town is among the areas where the Daesh-inspired DI and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) local terrorist groups operate.
Sunday’s incident in Datu Salibo was the second premature explosion from a bomb courier in Maguindanao del Sur this month.
On Oct. 14, a local terrorist also died in an accidental explosion of an improvised bomb he was assembling in Barangay Malangog, Datu Unsay town.
The military identified the slain bomb courier as Tantrex Amerudin Eskak, a BIFF member. (PNA)
