Terrorist rampage: MILF eyed

CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao — Suspected guerrillas of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) sustained their retaliatory attacks against the government by killing at least 18 people and injuring 39 others in three separate incidents, the military reported yesterday.

In Cotabato City, a car bomb exploded in front of the airport, killing at least three people and wounding 20 others, the military said.

Initial reports said a white Toyota Corolla rigged with explosives blew up outside the Cotabato airport. Most of the victims were inside a row of restaurants fronting the passenger terminal.

The blast set off a massive fire that gutted several establishments and halted airport operations, officials said.

One of the fatalities was initially identified as Neneng Bello, a waitress of the restaurant near where the car bomb went off.

Earlier, heavily armed men opened fire on the farming village of Barangay Tubod in Kalawit, Zamboanga del Norte, torching houses and killing at least 14 villagers late Wednesday.

Nine other civilians were wounded in the incident while three others were reportedly abducted and used as hostages.

A separate bomb attack also killed one person in an open market in Kabacan, North Cotabato, leaving 10 others injured.

The military blamed the MILF, claiming there are indications that the Muslim rebels carried out the separate attacks following the major military offensive last week that led to the death of nearly 200 MILF guerrillas and the capture of their stronghold in Pikit, North Cotabato.

The bombings occurred a day after President Arroyo approved a draft peace proposal to restart peace talks between the government and the MILF.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu, how-ever, disowned the attacks, saying MILF commanders have standing orders to launch attacks against government forces, but not civilians.

"The MILF is not behind the bombings, I believe there could be some groups who want to take advantage of the situation," he said, adding the MILF will conduct its own investigation of the incidents.

Armed Forces Southern Command (Southcom) chief Lt. Gen. Narciso Abaya said the Cotabato airport explosion occurred barely hours after the bombing of the market place in Kabacan.

The explosion occurred only meters away from the Army 6th Infantry Division headquarters which is adjacent to the airport.

Authorities said there are indications the bomber stuffed two sacks of ammonium nitrate inside the Toyota car which was left in front of the Pampangueña restaurant.

The restaurant owner, Amado Litan, later narrated seeing a man in his early 40s trying to park the car in front.

"He (the driver of the car) just kept looking toward the direction of the gate of 6th ID then hurriedly left," he said.

The explosion was so powerful that it literally tore down the restaurant and adjacent stalls fronting the departure area of the airport.

The airport terminal’s glass facades was shattered as well as the windows of nearby houses.

Police said the blast left a crater four feet deep and three meters wide.

The airport terminal was empty of passengers at the time of the blast.

Maj. Gen. Generoso Senga, 6th ID commander, said they could have been the target of the bombing since their headquarters was located near the scene of the blast.

Authorities surmised the bomber was apparently intimidated by the presence of tanks and armored personnel carriers parked in front of the 6th ID headquarters.

Following the explosion, the military and police immediately set up roadblocks and inspected vehicles. Two armored carriers were seen roving the city while helicopters hovered above. Establishments also closed shop on advise of military officials.

The massacre and the bombing

The military said around 50 suspected MILF rebels swooped down on the village in Kalawit town around 7:45 p.m. Wednesday and fired at the victims’ houses using assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers (RPGs).

According to Maj. Gen. Glicerio Sua, Western Mindanao military commander, some of the civilians fled minutes before the rebels attacked. Some of the wounded played dead but three others were taken hostage.

The rebels reportedly used B40 RPGs, a weapon typically used by Muslim rebels, in torching down the houses.

"We cannot directly pinpoint (the perpetrators). But there are indications that the attackers are MILF rebels," Sua said.

The military said some of the residents were shot down by the rebels as they tried to put out the blaze.

Police Senior Superintendent Marcelino Lipana added about 50 armed men ordered the villagers to assemble before they were shot.

Two suspects identified as Jaapal Lumantao and Basser Alingding, both residents of Kalawit town, were captured, said Southcom’s Abaya.

Abaya said the suspects were cornered by troops in their hideout in a remote village in Kalawit following tips from civilian informers.

On the other hand, Army spokesman Maj. Julieto Ando said the bomb in Kabacan, North Cotabato, apparently detonated prematurely, killing the alleged bomber.

Ando said the 10 other victims, three of them believed to be the companions of the bombing suspect, were among those wounded in the blast.

Ando ruled out that the lone fatality, initially identified only as Imaran Makalogi, was a suicide bomber since there are indications the bomb went off prematurely.

"They are capable of conducting a suicide bombing attack but they have not reached that level," he said.

Residents were able to identify the suspected bomber as a neighbor of MILF vice chairman for political affairs Ghadzali Jaafar in Barangay Simuay in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao.

Authorities said Makalogi reportedly used a mortar shell wired to a timing device. The alleged bomber was setting up the timer when the explosive went off.

Kabalu, for his part, maintained they took no part in the Kabacan bombing and claimed the accusations were part of military propaganda.

Malacañang, however, condemned the bombings as it assuaged concerns that they could be considered "retaliatory" attacks by Muslim extremists.

"If this is directed at the civilian population, this attack deserves condemnation," Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said.

Mrs. Arroyo told Reuters Wednesday that she does not subscribe to the "backlash theory" of the Philippine stand in support of the UN resolution on the US-Iraq conflict, citing that terrorism can strike anywhere and anytime.

She explained the military actions against the MILF were launched because some MILF units harbor members of the Pentagon kidnap-for-ransom gang.

"It is because it is in our national interest. We want to have peace and order in the country. So we have to enforce the law," Mrs. Arroyo said. – with Christina Mendez, Marichu Villanueva, Katherine Adraneda, AFP