Alert military personnel foiled a potential destructive bomb attack when it successfully diffused an improvised explosive device (IED) that was left on the roadside by an unidentified suspect in Patikul, Sulu on Sunday, Feb. 27.
1Lt. Jose Ignacious de Leon, chief of the public affairs office of the 11th Infantry Division (11ID), said that elements of the 35th Infantry Battalion (35IB) received a report about the sighting of a suspicious package left along Daan Putih in Barangay Anoling around 1 p.m.
Members of the Joint Task Force Sulu (JTF-Sulu), Explosive Ordnance Device (EOD) teams, and dog sniffing K9 teams responded to the site and confirmed that the package contained an IED that was stuffed in a plastic container.
“After cordoning the area and confirming the presence of the IED, it was then subsequently diffused and successfully recovered,” said Lt. Col. Domingo Robles Jr., commander of the 35IB.
Brig. Gen. Ignatius Patrimonio, commander of the 11ID, believes that the IED was intended to inflict casualty on government troops and target individuals as collateral damage.
The military has yet to identify the perpetrator behind the incident although Patrimonio considers it as the handiwork of a “terrorist group.” Sulu is known as the stronghold of different terrorist groups, particularly the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG).
"We've been tightening our efforts in suppressing this terrorist group. The JTF-Sulu will continue to put an end to terrorism here in this province in the soonest time possible. We will continue to coordinate with the police and other local government agencies,” Patrimonio said.
Recovered at the site were three electric blasting caps, six-meter long speaker wire (black and red), one-meter long detonating cord, one gallon of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil (ANFO), 12 volts motorcycle battery, 128 pieces of four-inch common nails, and 37 pieces of two-inch steel bars as components for bomb-making.
The seized IED was turned over to the Provincial Explosive Canine Unit (PECU) of the Sulu provincial police office for investigation and appropriate disposition.
To recall, the last bomb attack in Sulu happened on Aug. 24, 2020 when suspected ASG terrorists detonated two bombs in Jolo town, killing 14 people and wounding 75 others.
Since then, the JTF-Sulu had pre-empted bombing attempts by terrorist groups and other lawless elements.
"We will not stop until we zero-in the enemy and their leadership. We will continue to do our mandate and strengthen our capabilities to perform our duties to protect our fellow Filipino here in the province of Sulu,” Patrimonio said.