Jemaah Islamiyah blamed for Davao blast

DAVAO CITY — Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has tagged the Indonesia-based Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) as responsible for the Sasa wharf blast in the city that killed 16 people last week.

"The recent bombing was the handiwork of the Jemaah Islamiyah followers here who are also connected with the al-Qaeda," Duterte said.

The JI, a regional Islamic group linked by Western intelligence agencies to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network, carried out the deadly bombings in Bali, Indonesia which killed 189 people last October.

Duterte said the JI followers who carried out the bombing are members of special yrban terrorist action group (Sutag) of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). He claimed Sutag, operating independently from the MILF but still part of the rebel organization, represented the JI terror cell in the Philippines.

"It would not be wrong to conclude that these MILF leaders like (chairman Hashim) Salamat know about it," Duterte said. He said Sutag has been involved in 20 bombing incidents in Mindanao this year. "I expect more bombs and let’s prepare for it," the mayor warned.

Duterte also said they are looking for five Arabs who have reportedly slipped into the country with a mission to sow terror in key cities in Mindanao.

The Arabs have reportedly linked up with their local counterparts and were now "working overtime" to carry out more bombing missions, Duterte said.

Although he offered no evidence to his claims, Duterte said he is expecting more attacks from the MILF.

Sources from the team investigating the blast told The STAR that the suspects were identified as close affiliates of a ranking MILF leader. "It appears that the (bombing) suspects were the close-in bodyguards of one of the ranking MILF leaders," the source said without identifying the rebel leader.

Police said they are looking for two suspects who witnesses have claimed might be involved in the bombing.

Military officials, however, were not immediately available to comment on Duterte’s claims. The officials also earlier linked the MILF to the Davao International Airport blast last March 4 which killed 22 people.

Following the March 4 blast, President Arroyo designated Duterte as crisis manager with the government resources, as well as the military and law enforcement agencies at his disposal, to track down and prosecute the suspects in the bombing.

In last week’s bombing, Duterte initially claimed they had no suspects and investigation was still under way. The MILF had denied both accusations.

Authorities filed criminal charges against the MILF leaders over the Davao bomb blasts. The communist New People’s Army (NPA) was also blamed for helping out in the airport bombing in view of their tactical alliance with the MILF.

After the Sasay wharf bombing last week, police and military officials expressed concern that some hardliners of the MILF are trying to scuttle attempts to resume peace negotiations with the government. The two sides had agreed to hold preparatory talks for the resumption of the peace negotiations before the pier bombing occurred.

Duterte, for his part, shrugged off criticisms that his claims against the MILF might derail the peace efforts of the government. "I don’t care about the peace talks. What I want is for those responsible for the bombing to be answerable for what they have done," he said.

On the other hand, militant leaders warned against making swift accusations.

Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Crispin Beltran, for his part, said the March 4 bombing of Davao airport and the April 2 explosion that rocked Sasa wharf in the same city "can be rightly called terrorist acts."

Beltran, however, insisted that the bombings were carried out by supposed operatives of the US Central Intelligence Agency to justify the direct involvement of American troops against the rebels.

Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. maintained there is a "third force" behind the spate of violence in Mindanao aimed at fomenting war between Christians and Muslims.

He said the bombings have been carried out by sinister forces who do not want the peace process to continue. – With Benjie Villa, Bong Fabe