By Roy Ramos & Hader Glang
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines
The mayor of a predominantly Christian city in the Philippines’ Muslim-majority south has offered a reward following an overnight double bombing that left a bomb squad officer and his sniffer dog wounded.
Mayor Beng Climaco-Salazar announced Monday at a City Hall press conference: "The monetary reward is going to be 50,000 Philippine pesos [$1,100] for any person who can provide information leading to the arrest of the suspect and the resolution of the case."
Regional Police Superintendent Bayani Gucela told reporters Officer Manuel Franklin Ynid, who responded to the initial blast, was rushing away from a refuse bin that had aroused his dog’s suspicion when a second blast occurred, wounding both.
Investigators said the explosions at a massage parlor in the city's commercial district were triggered by a cellular phone at around 19.00 local time (13.00 Turkish time) Sunday, some 100 meters from a central police office.
Meanwhile, Police Director Senior Superintendent Joselito Casimiro said police and soldiers were guarding Zamboanga’s entry and exit points to prevent similar attacks as the city hosts a six-day national boy scout jamboree.
Explaining that an older explosive had been used in the second blast, Casimiro said police believe it targeted the first responders as the device was detonated by phone.
Although the scouts jamboree is being held 20 kilometers from the blast site, Casimiro said police are not discounting the possibility the bombs were intended to sabotage the event, with al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf militant group the primary suspect.
Witnesses told investigators the first explosion happened a few minutes after a man, who had sat at a table and ordered a soda, left the massage parlor.
Mirasol Monteza, a radio reporter who rushed to the area after the first explosion told The Anadolu Agency, "I heard an explosion and saw a policeman with bloody face... probably the injured victim running away from blast scene."
On November 2, the Abu Sayyaf killed six soldiers in an ambush in the nearby island province of Basilan – a known stronghold of the group.
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Governor Mujiv Hataman has called for an all-out offensive against the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan.
Since 1991, the Abu Sayyaf has carried out bombings, kidnappings, assassinations and extortions in a self-determined fight for an independent Islamic province in the Philippines. It is notorious for beheading victims after ransoms have failed to be paid.
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