Nine Filipino terrorists charged with Mindanao bus bombing
The nine are allegedly members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters terror group.
SULTAN KUDARAT: Philippine police have filed terror charges against nine suspected members of a local terrorist group in absentia for allegedly bombing a passenger bus which injured seven people in the southern province of Sultan Kudarat on April 17, it has been reported.
The charges for frustrated murder and violation of the Anti-Terrorism Act were filed against the alleged Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) members tagged in the bombing of the bus while it was parked at a public transport terminal, Sultan Kudarat police director Col. Christopher Bermudez reportedly said.
He said two of the suspects were couriers posing as passengers who planted two improvised bombs on the double-decker bus enroute from Cotabato City to Sultan Kudarat, the Manila Bulletin reported. A bomb placed on the bus’s upper deck did not explode.
Police said the seven other suspects acted as planners and logistical providers in the attack.
Bermudez ordered a manhunt operation against the suspects who are reportedly holed up in Maguindanao province, the Manila Bulletin reported further.
The BIFF has been blamed for a spate of passenger bus bombings in central Mindanao in the past several years.
Earlier, both the BIFF and the pro-IS Maute terror group were tagged in the bombing because the bombs found on the bus were identical to those previously used by both groups.