SECURITY TIGHTENED AT BUS TERMINALS: Zambo bomb threat confirmed

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Police and military authorities confirmed a bomb threat, prompting them to tighten security at bus terminals in this southern port city.

Western Mindanao police director Chief Superintendent Jaime Caringal revealed that the targets of the fresh bombing threat are bus companies operating in the region.

Caringal said police forces have been deployed to different bus stations across Zamboanga peninsula to thwart the attempt.

Caringal, however, declined to identify the name of the bus company who received and reported the bomb threat for security reasons.

The anti-terror unit of the military’s Task Force Zamboanga has also reinforced the security, while intelligence monitoring teams were deployed to track down the group sowing terror.

Caringal said they are also investigating the group who could be behind the bombing threat.

The authorities could not say if the fresh threat could be from the Abu Sayyaf group whose leadership is currently being pursued by the military in Sulu along with the Indonesia-based Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).

The military earlier said additional forces have been deployed as offensives in small tactics have been heightened.

A battalion of Marines and a company of Army Scout Rangers formed part of the fresh forces deployed to Sulu to back up about 7,000 soldiers hunting down JI Dulmatin and Umar Patek and the Abu Sayyaf group.

Caringal said security in the populated areas of Western Mindanao remained heightened to avert the terrorists from staging diversionary attacks to ease military pressure from Sulu.