Bomb try on Viet embassy thwarted

Police have thwarted an alleged attempt to bomb the Vietnamese embassy in Manila following the arrest of a Vietnamese-American and two other foreigners.

Vietnamese-American Vo Van Duc, 41; Japanese Makoto Ito, 62; and Huynh Thuan Ngoc, 42, a Swiss citizen of Vietnamese ancestry were arrested in a raid on their rented townhouse in Barangay Sta. Lucia, San Juan Thursday morning.

Philippine National Police (PNP) head of intelligence Chief Superintendent Robert Delfin said a search of Unit 17 of the Sylvana Townhomes on P. Guevarra street yielded bomb-making materials, including ammonium nitrate, wires with improvised blasting caps, a detonating cord, batteries and cellular phones.

"Their timely arrest prevented their plans to conduct bombings in the country," Delfin said.

The group allegedly planned to bomb the Vietnam Embassy "on or before Sunday," Vietnam’s National Day.

A Vietnamese embassy officer said they were informed by the police of the arrest, but he said he knew nothing more about it.

The PNP had invited reporters to a press conference scheduled for today in which officials were to present the "arrested foreign terrorists." However, the press conference was postponed to Monday.

The PNP said Duc is wanted in Thailand for a failed bombing of the Vietnamese embassy in Bangkok on June 19. Duc is also wanted for his alleged involvement in the Sept. 2, 2000 arson attack on the Vietnamese embassy in London.

Police authorities in Thailand said Duc allegedly was involved in the planting of two bombs at the Vietnam embassy.

The bombs – one planted inside premises and the other placed just outside the gate – were discovered and safely defused by police, and no damage was done. The bombs were attached to cellular phones, which were to be used to detonate the devices.

However, the bombs, weighing three kilograms and five kilograms, were improperly made and could not have exploded because they lacked certain key elements, Thai police said in a report.

The PNP said Duc operated terrorist cells in Vietnam and in the Philippines and is a member of the Free Vietnam Revolutionary Group, the military arm of the Government of Free Vietnam, a worldwide organization to liberate Vietnam from communist rule.

Sources said the three men just recently entered the Philippines on tourist visas. They said immigration agents alerted the PNP upon the arrival of Duc, who was using the name Tom Quyen, on suspicion that he belonged to a terrorist group.

The PNP, assisted by intelligence agents of the Bureau of Immigration, conducted week-long surveillance on the foreigners before raiding the San Juan townhouse on Thursday.

Superintendent Federico Laciste Jr., head of the National Capital Region Police Office’s intelligence bureau, said the raid was made on the strength of a search warrant issued by Pasig Judge Franchito Diamante for illegal possession of firearms and explosives. - With reports from Rey Arquiza