Manila: A crude bomb exploded outside a drugstore in the southern Philippines, wounding six civilians, just days after police arrested an alleged foreign bomb maker suspected of helping Muslim rebels. The blast late yesterday was followed by another explosion near the national highway that passes through Isulan township in Sultan Kudarat province, said military spokesman Maj Randolph Cabangbang.
There were no casualties in the second blast.
“We are investigating the attacks and we are looking into possible involvement of some terror groups active in the region,” said police commander Suharto Teng Tucao.
No group has claimed responsibility for the blasts. Muslim rebels from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which has fought for self-rule in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation’s south for decades, and extortion gangs linked to militants have been blamed for past bomb attacks in the volatile area.
Earlier this week, police announced the arrest of a Bangladeshi man they suspect of helping the rebels make bombs. Mohammad Alfariz, 48, appeared before the state prosecutor in Manila on yesterday during a preliminary investigation into charges of illegal possession of explosives.
Police say they found mortar shells, wires, a cell phone and other bomb-making material when they raided his watch repair shop in the southern Philippines.
Justice Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor said in a statement that Alfariz was linked to the regional terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah, which is based in Indonesia. Alfariz’s Filipino wife has denied the charges and said her husband was framed.
