Manhunt on vs suspects in Zambo airport blast

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Police have mounted a manhunt for at least three men linked to the blast that killed two people and hurt 24 others in Zamboanga City airport in Mindanao last Thursday. Police said the target of Thursday attack was Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan, who was among the injured. The suspected bomber, Reynaldo Apilado, and a bystander, Hatimil Haron, were killed in the blast. Authorities are investigating whether Haron, a native of Basilan province, was an accomplice of Apilado, who lived in a seaside village of Caragasan in the city. National police chief Jesus Versoza said they were investigating whether the attack was connected to the failed assassination of Tan last year in Sulu province. “We are looking into this now and ordered a manhunt for three men who are all accused in the bombing last year," he said. Tan survived a roadside bombing in Patikul town. Ten of his companions, including a town mayor, were wounded in the attack blamed to the bandit group Abu Sayyaf, he added. Versoza said two of the suspected bombers, who were captured in Sulu after a firefight with police forces, implicated Temogen Tulawie, Muamar Astali and a third man identified only by his first name, Abs, as their accomplices. “The three men are facing multiple frustrated murder and illegal possession of explosives. They are at-large. Police forces are hunting down the three men," he said. On the other hand, local police said neighbors claimed Apilado had traveled to Cotabato and Pagadian City, believed to be hiding places of Tulawie, a defeated congressional aspirant. Tulawie went into hiding after the failed assassination of Tan in May 13, 2009. He used to be a political activist and a member the Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society in Sulu, and was active in street protests against the presence of US troops training Filipino soldiers in the province. Governor Tan said more witnesses to the latest bombing have come out in the open and implicated several people. “Witnesses are coming out now and telling authorities that some people are also involved in the bombing," he said, adding that authorities are investigating the reports. Regional police chief Edwin Corvera said his office had received information from people claiming to have knowledge of, or were involved in the failed assassination of Tan. He said most of the information was relayed through a hotline the police put up last Friday. One information allegedly tagged Tulawie as behind the airport bombing, while another implicated two defeated candidates for town mayors in Sulu, who are known political foes of the governor. Corvena even cited informants as saying a bounty was raised by the mastermind to assassinate Tan. A third politician in Sulu, who lost in the May elections, was also implicated in the bombing, he added. Meanwhile, Versoza said police are investigating all the reports, even as the the National Bureau of Investigation has also started its own probe. Tan, a known philanthropist and a religious man, was re-elected in May as governor of Sulu, one of five provinces under the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Marine General Benjamin Dolorfino, a regional military commander, confirmed that Apilado was carrying the explosive device when it went off outside the Zamboanga International Airport, just when Tan was getting out of the terminal. However, he said authorities are still investigating whether there was a second man who could have remotely detonated the explosives. “Authorities are reviewing the CCTV footage from the airport security camera," Dolorfino said. “You can see Reynaldo on the video [footage] and he was just standing outside the airport arrival area just before the blast. He was just loitering there," he added. Authorities did not release copy of the video to the media, but one television cameraman claimed that he was shown a part of the footage by a policeman, and that he saw the bomber waiting for Tan to come out from the airport when the backpack exploded. “Reynaldo Apilado was just there standing in front of the exit gate of the arrival area and when Tan came out, the bomber casually walked a bit and there was this huge flash of light and an explosion followed and then chaos," the cameraman said. UK advisory After noting a British was among those hurt in Thursday’s airport blast, the United Kingdom advised its nationals against travel to parts of Mindanao. The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) reiterated the threat of terrorism, which it said was behind the airport blast. "We advise against all but essential travel to the remainder of Mindanao. This is because of ongoing terrorist activity there have been a number of terrorist attacks against civilian targets, the most recent on 5 August 2010 at Zamboanga airport where an explosion injured 15 people including a British national," it said. "We advise against all travel to specific areas of the Philippines and against all but essential travel to other specific areas of the Philippines," it added. It said terrorist groups continue to plan attacks and have the capacity and the intent to carry out these attacks at any time and anywhere in the country. Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places frequented by expatriates and foreign travelers, it said. The advisory urged UK nationals against all travel to southwest Mindanao including the ARMM, including the islands of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi; the eastern provinces of Sarangani, north and South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Lanao del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga Sibugay. The FCO also reminded its nationals of the risk of terrorist attacks to all forms of public transport such as road, rail, sea and air. It said terrorist groups have threatened to attack passenger ferries and other vessels, particularly those operating from Mindanao. "The Philippine government is taking action against the terrorist and kidnapping threat. It has tightened security in Metro Manila and other areas considered at high risk, including airports and seaports," it said. FCO cited data from the Tourism Department indicating some 70,000 British tourists visit the Philippines every year. — LBG, GMANews.TV