BY KEITH BACONGCO * MARTIN SADONGDONG
DAVAO CITY – The twin explosions in Jolo, Sulu on Monday were carried out by two female suicide bombers, who were being tracked down by the four slain Army intelligence operatives last June, Philippine Army chief Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana bared Tuesday.
“The two bombings were carried out by two female suicide bombers whom we were targeting last June 29,” disclosed Sobejana, who was then the chief of the Western Mindanao Command.
One of the suicide bombers was an Indonesian who was said to be the wife of 23-year-old Norman Lasuca, the first identified Filipino suicide bomber; while the other one was the wife of Talha Jumsah alias Abu Talha, a slain bomb expert who served as the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) liason to the Islamic State (ISIS), according to Sobejana and Brig. Gen. William Gonzales, commander of Joint Task Force (JTF) Sulu.
Lasuca, it can be recalled was one of the two suicide bombers who attacked the detachment unit of the Army’s 1st Brigade Combat Team in Indanan, Sulu on June 28, 2019 where eight persons were killed and scores wounded.
“Dalawa ito. ‘Yung sa una, suicide bomber din. Na-validate na ito,” Sobejana said.
Gonzales said that the JTF Sulu retrieved a closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage which showed that the first suicide bomber detonated herself near a parked motorcycle.
The second suicide bomber, Gonzales reiterated, blew herself up after she was accosted by a soldier who responded to the first explosion.
As of this writing, Gonzales said investigators were still determining who between Lasuca or Talha’s wife was responsible for each attack.
The identities of the two suicide bombers were withheld pending the results of the investigation conducted by the Philippine National Police’s Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO).
Meanwhile, a Jolo civilian was also claiming ownership of the burnt motorcycle that the military earlier said was used in the first explosion, according to Sulu Governor Abdusakur Mahail Tan.
This bolstered the findings of Sobejana and Gonzales that the first explosion was not a vehicle-borne IED explosion.
DEATH TOLL NOW AT 16
With the development, Gonzales said the fatality count rose to 16 including seven soldiers, six civilians, a policeman, and the two suicide bombers.
Nearly 80 civilians, soldiers and policemen were also wounded in the twin blasts.
The identities of the fatalities were not released by the military as of posting time.
WASTED OPPORTUNITY
Sobejana said two suicide bombers were the same persons being chased the four soldiers who were killed in an alleged “misencounter” with nine Jolo cops last June.
“Dahil sa nangyari, nakawala sila sa ating monitoring. Sayang ang pagkakataon at ito nga, nagresulta na sa hindi maganda. Mayroong mga kasamahan natin na nasawi at may mga inosenteng sibilyan nadamay pa,” he said.
Last June 29, Major Arvin Indammog, Captain Irwin Managuelod, Sergeant Eric Velasco, and Corporal Abdal Asula were tracking down ASG suicide bombers in Jolo when they were flagged down by the local cops in a checkpoint operation. The incident eventually led to the fatal shooting of the four Army intelligence operatives.
The cops had claimed that the soldiers tried to shoot the former.
However, an investigation conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation said the soldiers were killed mercilessly by the cops. The cops were charged with murder and planting of evidence.
HUNT ON
The Western Mindanao Command (WestMinCom) is now hot on the trail of the ASG faction believed to be behind the twin explosions — the group under the command of ASG bomb expert Mundi Sawadjaan.
Mundi is the nephew of ASG’s second-in-command, Hajan Sawadjaan. Hajan is under the direct command of ASG’s top commander, Radullan Sahiron, who took command of the militant group after the death of Khadaffy Janjalani in September 2016.
Further, Sobejana said he will make a formal recommendation to Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief Lieutenant General Gilbert Gapay and Defense Secretry Delfin Lorenzana to bring back martial law in Sulu.
He said this will further enhance the security situation in the province and prevent the escape of Mundi’s group.
“We want to bring back normalcy in Sulu as soon as possible,” he added.
The recommendation, if approved by Lorenzana and Gapay, will be submitted to Malacanang for President Duterte’s approval.
Special unit troops will also be sent in Sulu to augment the current force in the province while the military is hunting down Mundi’s group.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) has also mobilized its manpower and resources in Sulu and western part of Mindanao to assist the military in hunting down those involved in the Jolo twin bombings.
JOLO AIRPORT CLOSED
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has decided to temporarily close the Jolo, Sulu Airport after the twin bombings on Monday that resulted in the killing of 15 individuals and the wounding of more than 75.
CAAP spokesman Eric Apolonio said the CAAP immediately decided to close the Jolo airport as the military and police tightened the security in the province.
All commercial flights are suspended, except essential flights carrying medical supply and personnel. (with reports from Aaron Recuenco and Ariel Fernandez)
