Investigators still clueless on Tacurong bombing attempt

TACURONG CITY, Philippines -- Authorities  have yet to find a lead on the suspects who attempted to set off an improvised explosive device last Tuesday inside a bus parked at the public terminal here.

Supt. Junny Buenacosa, chief of the city police, said investigators, with the help of Army intelligence operatives, are still trying to determine the identity of the two men that left the IED inside a unit of the Rural Transit Bus.

The IED, fashioned from a live 60 MM mortar round rigged with a battery-operated blasting device attached to a mobile phone and placed in a box, was first noticed by two passengers who reported it to the police in the area.

Responding Army bomb disposal experts immediately deactivated the IED and dispose it off before it could explode.

Buenacosa said an extortion gang preying on bus companies operating in Tacurong City and surrounding provinces could be behind the bombing attempt.

"But that's only an initial theory. Let's give investigators enough time to do their work," he said.

Units of the Rural Transit Bus ply the Tacurong-North Cotabato-Bukidnon-Cagayan de Oro route.

“These extortionists are known for bombing buses and commercial establishments that refuse to give out `protection money’ on a regular basis,” Buenacosa said.

He said he has deployed more policemen at the Tacurong City public terminal after the incident. - John Unson