PNP confirms Zambo blast by Abus was diversionary attack

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Philippine National Police Director General Oscar Calderon warned yesterday that Abu Sayyaf terrorists will bomb strategic points nationwide to try to divert the ongoing military offensive against them in Basilan and Sulu.

“This might be part of their diversionary tactics to ease the tension of the operation of the Armed Forces in Basilan and Sulu,” he said.

Calderon said police and military bomb experts, along with those from the US military, are comparing and evaluating the bomb used in the recent attack in Zamboanga City, Pagadian and the previous bombing in Central Mindanao.

“However, we really need the constant cooperation and vigilance of the community,” he said.

Police have intensified intelligence operations to track down Abu Sayyaf terrorists and their possible supporters in urban areas nationwide, Calderon said.

Police here released two sketches of three persons suspected of detonating a bomb in Plaza Pershing in the commercial district of Zamboanga City.

The explosion, which injured 16 people, came more than 24 hours after President Arroyo visited the city for a major command conference with military commanders in Mindanao.

Police are in the process of identifying the suspected bombers based on the description of witnesses, according to Zamboanga City police director Senior Superintendent Manuel Barcena.    – Roel Pareño