Philippines: 10 killed, dozens wounded in twin bombing, says military

At least 10 people were reportedly killed and dozens left injured in a twin bombing on a southern Philippine island, a stronghold of Islamist militants, on August 24. Lieutenant General Corleto Vinluan told reporters that four soldiers and five civilians lost their lives when an improvised explosive device (IED) attached to a motorcycle blew up outside a supermarket.

As many as 16 soldiers and around 20 civilians were wounded in the blast in Muslim-majority Sulu, where security forces have been fighting the Abu Sayyaf group, officially known by ISIL as the Islamic State – East Asia Province, for a long time. Another blast occurred on the same street when a female suicide bomber blew herself up while police were busy cordoning off the area. It reportedly killed one person and wounded around six officers.

“It was a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device which exploded while our soldiers were on a marketing run,” said Vinluan.

While no one has claimed the responsibility of the attack, Abu Sayyaf has been behind several bombings, kidnappings, and beheadings in the past few years. However, their numbers have dwindled down in recent years due to continuous crackdown on the terrorist group using military offensives and forcing members to surrender. The group emerged in the late 1980s which has pledged its allegiance to the Islamic State group.

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Recent incident of abduction

In November last year, Philippines soldiers rescued British man and his Filipino wife, nearly two months after they were abducted from a beach resort by the local militants. The couple, who owns a college in Tukuran town, was kidnapped from their beach resort in southern Zamboanga del Norte province that led to the massive search operation.

Regional military commander Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana said that the troops encountered the captors in the mountainous terrain off Parang town in Sulu Province where they had a brief exchange of fire. British Embassy in Manila extended their gratitude to the Philippines government after the Hyrons were rescued from the Abu Sayyaf group. 

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(With AP Inputs | Image: AP)