Bomb courier slain in IED premature blast in Maguindanao del Sur
Mindanao Armed Conflict • 14:30 PM Sun Oct 29, 2023
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By:
Edwin O. Fernandez
CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao Norte – A suspected member of Dawlah Islamiyah was blasted to death after an improvised bomb he was carrying prematurely went off Sunday.
Major Saber Balogan, spokesperson of 601st Infantry Brigade spokesperson, said the blast occurred at about 7:30 Sunday morning in Barangay Sambulawan, Datu Salibo Maguindanao del Sur.
Citing initial Army investigation, Balogan said a certain Commander Pagadian of the Dawlah Islamiyah Torayfe Group was killed when the suspected improvised explosive device he was carrying prematurely exploded.
No civilian was hurt in the blast that sent jitters to residents of Sambulawan, a populated village of Datu Salibo.
Balogan, in a radio interview, could not say if it was election related but stressed that local authorities are determining where the victim intended to plant the IED and for what motive.
Datu Salibo is among the areas of operation of Dawlah Islamiyah and extremists Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIFF), local terrorist groups the pledge allegiance to the ISIS.
It was the second premature explosion of a bomb courier in Maguindanao del Sur this month.
On October 14, Saturday, a local terrorist was killed in an accidental explosion of an improvised bomb he was assembling in Barangay Malangog in Datu Unsay, Maguindanao del Sur.
The military identified the slain bomb courier as Tantrex Amerudin Eskak, a BIFF member.
Brig. Gen. Oriel L. Pangcog, 601st Infantry Brigade commander, confirmed the blast victim was manufacturing the IED when it accidentally exploded in Barangay Malangog.