Soldiers foil roadside bomb attempt in Maguindanao

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines – Military ordnance experts prevented what could have been another deadly bombing in Central Mindanao on Monday by promptly defusing a bomb along the highway in Sultan Kudarat town in Maguindanao.

Col. Dickson Hermoso, spokesman of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said the improvised explosive was fashioned from live 60-mm mortar projectiles rigged with a blasting mechanism attached to a mobile phone.

The bomb, planted on a secluded stretch of the Cotabato-Davao Highway in Barangay Ladia, Sultan Kudarat, was found by villagers, who in turn reported it to soldiers manning a nearby Army detachment.

“It was just fortunate that the people who found the bomb were so vigilant that they promptly informed authorities about the presence of an improvised explosive along the highway,” Hermoso said.

Hermoso said the explosive was identical with the bombs used by the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in recent roadside bombings in Maguindanao, including at least four attempts to blow up two adjoining bridges in Datu Piang town in the second district of Maguindanao.

It was the first attempt to pull off a roadside bombing in Sultan Kudarat town located in the first district of the province and host to Camp Darapanan, the largest enclave of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.