Suspected bomber loses head in Zamboanga blast

ZAMBOANGA City, Philippines - A suspected bomber was beheaded after the bomb that he was allegedly carrying prematurely exploded along a highway in Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur on Tuesday night.

Superintendent Thomas Abellar, Zamboanga del Sur police provincial director, said that the unidentified man's headless body was recovered by responding policemen in Barangay Tapodoc after the explosion at around 9:30 p.m.

“We presumed he was the bomber who was transporting the IED (improvised explosive device),” Abellar told newsmen here at the sideline of the Regional Law Enforcement Coordinating Meeting IX (RLEC) with Police Director General Alan Purisima.

He said that the blast site was a few hundred meters away from the detachment of the Cafgu Active Auxiliary (CAA) and a police detachment in the village.

Abellar said that another bomb was recovered by the authorities as they were clearing the blast site. The bomb was found in an abandoned bag, away from the blast site.

He said the responding policemen were able to safely defuse the bomb with a water bomb disruptor.

Abellar said the recovered bomb had a 60mm mortar round, a detonating device and a cellphone as the triggering mechanism.

Police have yet to determine the motive behind the foiled bomb attack.