Manila: Security forces have recovered a total of 20 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) from southern Philippines’ Basilan following two days of clashes with suspected extremists .
At around 9am on Friday, troops of the third Scout Ranger Regiment and the 18th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army discovered the IEDs near the vicinity of the clash sites in Sitio Project, Tuburan Proper in Hadji Mohammad Ajul town, Col Rolando Joselito Bautista, the Commander of the Joint Task Group Basilan, said.
IEDs are the weapon of choice of by terrorists in Basilan where thick foliage can easily conceal remotely detonated bombs.
It was not clear what type of IEDs were recovered by the military in the Basilan clash, but Abu Sayyaf and other armed groups often use unexploded artillery and mortar shells recovered from encounter sites.
These recovered unexploded ordnance are fitted with detonating devices, often old mobile phones, and recycled into bombs that can be remotely detonated.
The series of encounters in Basilan’s Tuburan town had also resulted in the deaths of three suspected members of Abu Sayyaf and a government soldier, while six others were wounded the armed forces said in a report.
The reports also revealed that a Malaysian radical identified as Mohammad Najib Bin Hussain, also known as Abu Anas or Abraham, was part of the group that encountered the soldiers.
While there had been a noticeable decline in the number of terror attacks carried out by armed groups especially in Central Mindanao, which is dominated by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), terrorist attacks continue in areas such as Basilan and Sulu.
The once separatist MILF has been engaged in a peace process with the Manila-based central government.
Approval of a law providing for “enhanced autonomy” for MILF — the Bangsamoro Basic Law — is being sought by these groups.
