AFP warns of more bomb attacks in Central Mindanao

COTABATO CITY – The military warned of more bombing attacks by foreign-trained bomber Basit Usman to divert the military’s attention from its continuing hunt for his superior, Ustadz Ameril Ombra Kato.

The military promptly thwarted over the weekend an attempt by Usman, a sub-commander of the 105th Base Command of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, to bomb a bridge connecting Datu Unsay and Datu Saudi towns in Maguindanao, just as representatives of foreign donor agencies were inspecting evacuation sites in adjoining municipalities.

Col. Marlou Salazar, commander of the Army’s 601st Infantry Brigade, said villagers have confirmed that Usman and his men were behind the attempt to destroy the bridge using improvised bombs fashioned from B-40 anti-tank rockets and live mortar projectiles rigged with battery-operated blasting mechanisms.

Salazar said Usman, who trained in Kandahar, Afghanistan in handling explosives, is likely to stage more bombings in Central Mindanao to divert the attention of military units pursuing Kato.

Kato, known for enforcing a “Taliban-style shadow government” in areas where his group operates, has a P10-million bounty on his head for leading bloody attacks on several villages in North Cotabato after the aborted Aug. 5 signing of the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain by the government and MILF panels.

“This Basit Usman has links with both the Jemaah Islamiyah and the al-Qaeda. That makes him so dangerous. But we will not stop from running after him until he is neutralized,” Salazar said.

Col. Julieto Ando, spokesman of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said there are persistent intelligence reports that Usman would carry out more bombings in the coming days to catch the attention of the international community, at a time when the government is reconstituting its peace panel to resume talks with the MILF.

Ando said the 6th ID has fielded dozens more of intelligence operatives in strategic areas to monitor the movements of Usman and his cohorts.