More bombs seized

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Combat troops foiled a possible bombing attempt of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah when it recovered two powerful bombs in the terrorists’ jungle lair in Indanan, Sulu.

Troops from the 35th Infantry Battalion were on combat mission when they discovered the bombs, concealed in a thermos and a lunchbox, on Sunday.

Maj. Eugene Batara, Western Mindanao Command information chief said the military Explosive Ordnance and Disposal retrieved and defused the bombs in Barangay Kagay.

Batara said the bomb found in the thermos contained trinitrotoluene (TNT), nitric acid and rigged with four-inch nails while the one in the lunchbox, which contained the same type of explosive, was rigged with ball bearings. Both are electronically triggered and powered by a nine-volt battery.

The military in Sulu reported that the bombs are similar to the types of bombs fashioned by the JI.

The military was not, however, surprised at the discovery. In the past, the military recovered a huge haul of bombs from the former bomb factory and training camp of Abu Sayyaf and JI leaders Dulmatin and Umar Patek.

The camp fell to government hands barely a day after it launched "Oplan Ultimatum" last Aug. 1 in the mountains of Indanan.