Sayyaf threat to bomb Mindanao ‘for real’

ZAMBOANGA CITY , Philippines  – The bombing plot of the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) targeting key areas in Mindanao including this city is “for real,” a ground police commander warned yesterday.

Senior Superintendent Angelito Casimiro, city police director who used to work on anti-terror counter intelligence, said that the bombing threat was uncovered as early as February.

Casimiro, however, did not say if the threat was related to the terror alert raised by President Aquino in Davao last week following his call to Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to stay vigilant.

The alert was raised just days after JI-trained Abu Sayyaf leader Khair Mundos was arrested in Manila. Mundos served as a conduit of the al-Qaeda terror cell in channeling funds for local militant groups in Mindanao.

Casimiro warned that the threat of terrorism is still present, so authorities and the public should remain vigilant.

“If we can still intensify it (security) more we will continue doing it because the threat is for real and it is just around the corner, and we cannot afford to let our guard down because it will be the lives of the citizenry of Zamboanga that are at stake,” he said.

“We cannot say that we are tired. We have to continue to work for the betterment of the peace and order of Zamboanga,” he added.

Authorities are tracking down the Abu Sayyaf and cohorts in the JI.

“These are groups related to the bigger group, related by affiliation or blood or what I termed them as ‘umbilically’ connected,” Casimiro said.