ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Authorities on Saturday released a sketch of the suspect in the bombing of a passenger bus that killed a student and wounded 33 others in this city.
Aside from the sketch provided by the National Bureau of Investigation, the city police also released the result of a laboratory analysis on the chemical residue of the bomb used in last Friday’s attack.
The result showed that ammonium nitrate fuel oil was used in making the improvised explosive device.
City police director Senior Superintendent Angelito Casimiro said the sketch was based on the descriptions provided by a witness, who claimed the bomber was wearing a hooded jacket.
“Footage taken by a CCTV (closed-circuit television) camera also showed the same suspect walking toward the bus and placing the bomb before hurriedly moving away,” Casimiro said.
He said the suspect was described to be more or less 25 years old, medium build, brown-skinned and 5’4” tall.
The official believes the suspect had accomplices, as he was seen talking to someone on a mobile phone.
Casimiro said investigation showed the primary motive for the attack was extortion, citing threats earlier received by the D’ Biel Transportation.
He said the extortion group maybe linked to terror groups operating in the region like the Abu Sayyaf.
Casimiro said they would ask the city government to require bus companies to assign marshals and have the terminals enclosed to facilitate the inspection of passengers.
He said they would ask the local government to come up with an ordinance requiring the installation of CCTV cameras in terminals and the submission of footage to authorities.