2 suspects in Koronadal bus bombing arrested

KORONADAL CITY – Two suspects in the bombing of a passenger bus here last July 7 were arrested by operatives of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) in nearby Tacurong City last Wednesday, police said.

Superintendent Joel Limson, Tacurong police chief, said the suspects were collared in front of a drug store and were promptly turned over to the Koronadal City police for investigation.

Limson said a witness in the bombing of the Yellow Bus Line (YBL) unit positively identified the two. He declined to give more details.

Police said two men boarded the YBL bus in front of the Fitmart Department Store in Tacurong City, and the improvised explosive, believed to be cellphone-activated, went off after the passengers had alighted from the bus in front of the YBL terminal here.

A newly formed terrorist group calling itself the Al-Khobar, believed to have links with the Indonesian terror group Jemaah Islamiyah, has claimed responsibility for the bombing. It had demanded “protection money” from the company’s management.

The group is also believed to be responsible for the bombings of buses of the Davao City-based Weena bus company.

Senior Superintendent Robert Kiunisala, South Cotabato police director, said the two suspects, both residents of Salipada Pendatun, Maguindanao, were still undergoing interrogation.

But Kiunisala refused to identify the two, saying they might be forced to release them after the 72-hour reglamentary period if the other witnesses fail to positively identify them.

This, after the witness who had initially tagged them in the YBL bus bombing later claimed he was unsure.