Estrada blames Sayyaf for bombings in Jolo

JOLO, Sulu (AFP) -- President Estrada blamed yesterday Muslim extremists for the fatal bombings in this capital town and in nearby Zamboanga City that left 10 people dead last Thursday.

Press Undersecretary Mike Toledo said nitial investigation showed the bombings bore "the handiwork of the Abu Sayyaf group."

The death toll in the grenade attacks on a crowded marketplace in Jolo, Sulu, climbed to nine yesterday after five more victims succumbed to serious injuries.

As police continued to hunt three men responsible for the attack, police in Zamboanga City yesterday arrested an alleged Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebel suspected of bombing a bakeshop there that killed a pregnant woman and wounded 21 people also Thursday.

The bombings have delayed talks aimed at winning the freedom of 21 mostly foreign hostages held by the Abu Sayyaf on this island.

An aide to government negotiator Robert Aventajado said "it's a question of security now," even as provincial police chief Superintendent Candido Casimiro said police are on "double red alert" following the attacks.

Police yesterday deployed combined teams of four soldiers and policemen to guard entrances of banks, restaurants and other commercial establishments.

Several groceries and other stores boarded up at 3 p.m., fearing further trouble.

The near-simultaneous attacks in Jolo and Zamboanga City led authorities to believe earlier that the MILF alone was responsible. The rebels had threatened to target cities across Mindanao.

In Jolo, Casimiro said their investigation was proceeding "round the clock." We are working for the immediate arrest of the suspects to dispel rumors that the attack was the handiwork of certain disgruntled sectors," he said, adding they were "exploring all angles."

Though the blasts were quickly blamed on the Abu Sayyaf as a "diversionary tactic," Casimiro said they may have been carried out by warring gangs. At least 36 people were wounded and five people were killed on the spot.

Looking at another angle, Jolo police chief Muhammad Alamia said, "It is possible that this is a diversionary tactic of the Abu Sayyaf guerrillas," who have been holding 21 people hostage on the island, most of them foreigners.

The Southern Philippines Council for Peace and Development yesterday urged the National Bureau of Investigation to help local police track down the suspects.

In another attack blamed on the Abu Sayyaf, at least two people were wounded yesterday in the capital town of Isabela on nearby Basilan island, an Abu Sayyaf stronghold.

Witnesses said two men on board a motorcycle lobbed a grenade at a police station. Police suspect the attack was in reprisal for the death of ten Abu Sayyaf rebels killed by soldiers last Thursday.

Police in Jolo have tightened security in the marketplace to prevent similar incidents. A week ago, two soldiers and a civilian were shot dead there by a suspected MILF hitman.

Witnesses said three men threw three grenades from the second floor of the public market. Two grenades exploded in a rice stall; the third in a busy alley.

In Zamboanga City, police have arrested one Walid Talim who, they said, was a bomb expert. Talim, accompanied by an unidentified man, was spotted walking suspiciously downtown along Climaco Avenue.

Police Inspector Jess Belarga said Talim, based on police records, was an MILF member. Talim's companion escaped arrest.

Investigators are still determining the type of explosive used in the blast. Zamboanga police bomb squad chief Bayani Gucela said the explosive was a "very powerful homemade bomb."

Local officials have started raising reward money for those who can provide information leading to the arrest of the suspects.

The military is now poised to help police guard seaports and airports in the wake of explosions in Mindanao and Metro Manila. An explosion in upscale Glorietta shopping mall in Makati City last Wednesday injured 10 people, mostly teenagers.

"We will conduct security inspections in all seaports and airports to ensure that explosives will not be transported aboard ships or planes," military spokesman Lt. Col. Horacio Lapinid said yesterday in a press conference in Camp Aguinaldo.

Lapinid dismissed speculations that Muslim rebels were responsible for the Glorietta blast. Police earlier said they found no link between the incident and threats from Muslim rebels to target cities.

"There is no indication to show that the acts of terrorism happening in Mindanao and the Makati explosion are related," he said.

In the Senate, Sen. Robert Barbers called for an increase of police visibility nationwide to deter terrorist attacks. While urging the public to remain calm, the former interior secretary also urged people to be alert.