Military: 5 dead, 3 hurt in Jolo school blast

(Updated 9:39 p.m.) Five people were killed and three others were injured Thursday afternoon when an improvised bomb exploded at a school in Jolo town in Sulu, a known bailiwick of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group. The bomb exploded at around 5:20 p.m. beside the Salih Utatalum Elementary School along Scott Road at Lower San Raymondo village, according to Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang, spokesman of the Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command. Cabangbang said two of the fatalities died on the spot while the others died at the hospital. Police Director Felicisimo Khu, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP)-Directorate for Integrated Police Operations in Western Mindanao, said two people died in the explosion, one of them identified as Habier Mohammad, 36.
Khu said eight people were hurt in the explosion:

Muddasal Sabuddin, 40;

Jernalyn Haiber, 21;

AbdulBairulla, 30;

Sukarno Jilah, 58;

Annong Sabrim, 40;

Marino Nadila, 42;

Nurin Akmad, 21;

Salma Gaspar, 41 The injured were brought to Sulu Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO), Khu said in a text message to reporters. The explosion damaged the nearby school building, its fence, three tricycles, and three motorcycles, Cabangbang said. Cabangbang said investigations are still underway to identify the suspects and the motive behind the blast. “We are still investigating, looking into the possible suspects and their motives," he said. PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr. said last Monday, the intelligence community received a report regarding two improvised explosive devices being brought to Jolo from Indanan town, also in Sulu. “Checkpoints by [Special Action Force] and Marine were conducted 24 hours but the checkpoints halted because of the flooding that hit Jolo wherein most of the security forces were used for rescue and relief operations," Cruz said. The blast occurred hours after military aircraft conducted air strikes at an Abu Sayyaf lair situation on an island off Zamboanga City. The attack was conducted after the military received information that Abu Sayyaf leaders Furuji Indama and Kair Mundus were on the island. - KBK, GMA News