ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Two explosions shook Isabela City in Basilan Wednesday night as Marines detonated two improvised bombs recovered from a bus terminal, authorities said.
The discovery of the bombs prompted the Marines and other government security forces to be on full alert for any hostile plots by the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf, said Lt. Gen. Ben Dolorfino, commander of the Armed Forces’ Western Mindanao Command.
Police and the military were alerted after civilians reported a suspicious baggage containing the bombs in the vicinity of a bus station in Barangay Menzi, just a few meters away from the provincial police headquarters, at around 10 p.m. Wednesday.