Heightened security as 2 bombs found in Pagadian bus terminal

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Police and military personnel heightened security here yesterday after two bombs were discovered inside a bus terminal in Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur, officials said.

The two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) concealed in a bag were abandoned in the terminal at Barangay Bulatoc, Pagadian City.

Policemen in the area were alerted by passengers about the IEDs after they noticed the bombs around 1:30 p.m.

First Lt. Steffani Cacho, Western Mindanao Command spokesman, said the IEDs were composed of two cartridges of 60mm mortars with wiring and timing devices.

Police immediately deployed the explosive ordinance and disposal unit (EOD) in the area. The bombs were diffused more than an hour later.

Chief Superintendent Angelo Sunglao, Western Mindanao Police director, said the authorities in Zamboanga del Sur were trying to assess the signature of the bomb to determine the group who could be behind the bombing attempt.

At the same time, Sunglao also directed policemen to intensify security in all vital installations including ports, terminals, commercial centers and churches.

The discovery of the bombs came two days after a bomb was found in Iligan City.

Iligan City police director Superintendent Celso Regencia said two scavengers found a mortar hidden inside a papaya fruit attached to an explosive device with a timer and a blasting cap in a garbage dump.

Regencia said the two scavengers immediately reported their discovery to police and military personnel, who defused the bomb in a vacant lot on Burgos and Echiverri streets.

The mortar was different from the type issued to the Armed Forces, according to Regencia.

Last Friday, a mortar also concealed in a papaya was found by a store assistant in a bakeshop on Aguinaldo Street in Iligan City.

It was on Aguinaldo Street that two cell-phone activated mortars exploded one after the other in two department stores Thursday last week.

The terrorist attacks killed three people and wounded 47 others.

Police have identified two suspects in the bombing of UniCity and Jerry’s Bargain Center department stores.

A witness has reportedly pointed to two men who spoke with a Maranao accent as the ones who deposited a box wrapped as a Christmas package at the baggage counter in Jerry’s Bargain Center minutes before the explosion.

As a precautionary measure, local radio stations reported that most Christmas parties in Iligan have been cancelled.