At least 10 killed in bomb attacks in southern Philippines

Suspected Islamic militants set off powerful bombs in a southern Philippine town Monday killing at least 10 soldiers and civilians despite extra tight security because of threats of attacks by the Islamic State groupaligned militants military officials said10 killed dozens injured in southern Philippines blast httpstcoVtJHGE1RKtmdash NYK DAILY daily_nyk August 24 2020Regional military commander Lt Gen Corleto Vinluan said at least five soldiers and four civilians were killed in the first attack when a bomb attached to a motorcycle exploded at noon near two parked army trucks in front of a grocery and a computer shop in Jolo town in Sulu province It was a vehicleborne improvised explosive device which exploded while our soldiers were on a marketing run Vinluan told reportersAlso readPakistan Sanctions Taliban To Avoid Global Finance BlacklistA second blast nearby apparently from a female suicide attacker occurred about an hour later and killed the bomber and a soldier Vinluan and other officials saidFive soldiers and four civilians were killed in the first blast when an improvised explosive device attached to a motorcycle parked outside a supermarket blew uphttpstcoUnMDKju343mdash Yahoo Singapore YahooSG August 24 2020A soldier was checking on somebody then there was another explosion Vinluan said A third unexploded bomb was reportedly found in a public market Jolo was immediately placed in a security lockdown by troops and policeNearly 40 soldiers police and civilians were wounded in the bomb attacks military and police officials saidPictures seen by The Associated Press showed soldiers carrying a man from the scene of the explosion near an army truck while another blast victim lay on the road The wreckage of a motorcycle and partial remains were seen on the roadUPDATE ndash The blast damaged a food store a computer shop and two army trucks at noon in Jolo town in Sulu prov Philippines pictwittercomWqzO9WHr2Gmdash ISCResearch ISCResearch August 24 2020The first bombing was carried out near a town plaza and a Roman Catholic cathedral in the predominantly Muslim provinceThe countrys southern region is home to minority Muslims in the largely Roman Catholic nation and has been the scene of decades of Muslim separatist unrest particularly in farflung island provinces like JoloThere was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack but the military blamed an Abu Sayyaf militant commander Mundi Sawadjaan for the bombingsMilitary officials said last week that Sawadjaan plans to launch bombings in Sulu using two female suicide attackers Army troops were carrying out a covert operation to locate and capture Sawadjaan and the suicide bombers in June when four army personnel were stopped at a Jolo police checkpoint and later shot to death by police personnelThe army angrily described the killings as a rubout and demanded murder charges to be filed against nine policemenPolice officials however say it may have been a mistaken encounter between the army and police forcesThe military has been waging a monthslong offensive against the Abu Sayyaf a small but violent group aligned with the Islamic State group and blacklisted by the United States and the Philippines as a terrorist group for past bombings ransom kidnappings and beheadingsThe number of its armed fighters have dwindled to a few hundreds in recent years due to battle setbacks and surrenders including a key commander Abduljihad Susukan who gave up to authorities two weeks ago after being wounded in battleSusukan has been blamed for kidnappings and beheadings of hostages including foreign tourists and surrenders through a Muslim rebel chief who has signed a peace deal and was cooperating with the government He is now in police custody and faces multiple murder chargesMilitary officials said they were not discounting the possibility that Mondays bombings may have been staged partly as a retaliation for the detention of Susukan who is now in police custody and faces multiple murder and kidnapping chargesCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever