US explosives experts assist in probe of Koronadal bombings

KORONADAL CITY – US explosives experts are assisting in the investigation into two bomb blasts that ripped through a bus terminal here last Friday that killed a Christian preacher and wounded 12 other passengers.

Two US military bomb experts inspected the scene of the blasts, according to South Cotabato police director Senior Superintendent Robert Kiunisala.

Kiunisala said the US probers are part of the contingent conducting joint military exercises with Filipino troops in nearby Shariff Kabunsuan province.

He said the police have intensified the manhunt for the members of Al-Khobar, a newly formed extortion gang allegedly responsible for the bombing that killed the preacher and wounded 12 others at the terminal of the Yellow Bus Line (YBL) last Friday.

Kiunisala said investigators are convinced the Al-Khobar gang was behind the latest attack at the YBL terminal after the group conducted other bombings of YBL buses last July 7 and 18 after demanding P500,000 monthly “protection money” from the company’s owners.

Investigators said the latest bombing killed Willy Caritan, 31, a preacher of the Christian and Missionary Alliance Churches of the Philippines (Camacop) based in Panabo, Davao City.

Caritan died on the spot when the improvised explosive device (IED) went off at the waiting area of the bus terminal.

Ten seconds later, another IED exploded inside an air-conditioned YBL bus that was parked beside the building of Emcor Appliance Corp. inside the terminal.

Sources said Al-Khobar is a newly formed extortion gang based in the Liguasan Marsh near Pagalungan, Maguindanao. The group is composed of extremist commanders who separated from the mainstream Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Kiunisala said five hours before the Friday attacks, an unidentified man called up the YBL office at around 12:50 p.m. and warned that the bombings will not stop until they get their demand.

He said after issuing the warning to the bus company, the unidentified caller introduced himself as the leader of Al-Khobar.

Olimpio Par, operations manager of YBL, confirmed that the call was made, but he refused to give further details.

Al-Khobar members are reportedly trained in handling explosives by the operatives of the Indonesian terror group Jemaah Islamiyah operating in the southern part of Mindanao.

The extortion gang had also claimed responsibility for the bombings of several buses of the Weena Bus Co. The group was also demanding P500,000 monthly protection money from the Weena management.

Senior Inspector Roberto Callejo, chief of the South Cotabato explosives and ordnance division, said a few minutes after the two explosions at the YBL terminal in Koronadal, his men recovered three more bombs hidden in the baggage area where Caritan was killed.

Meanwhile, leaders of the Christian and Muslim Alliance of Churches of the Philippines, an organization composed of 700 religious groups in Southern and Central Mindanao, have condemned Friday’s bomb attacks.

Rev. Ben Barnuevo, regional ministry director of the alliance, said the bombings are acts of terrorism that remind the people of the dangers in the war against terror.

He said the terrorists have no respect for life and the death of Caritan is a big loss in the “spiritual battle against Satan in Southern Mindanao.” – Ramil Bajo, John Unson, AP