September 15, 2007

(UPDATE)

Military agent tagged in Zambo bombing

By ANGELO GUTIERREZ
abs-cbnNEWS.com

A police official on Tuesday said a military intelligence agent masterminded the August 21 bombing of Plaza Pershing in Zamboanga City that injured at least 20 people.

Senior Superintendent Manuel Barcena, Zamboanga City police chief, said the man who provided the improvised explosive device to the bombers is a member of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines' (AFP) Military Intelligence Group 9 based in Zamboanga province.

Barcena declined to name the military agent. He said the suspect is a known "murderer" in Zamboanga City.

He said the identity of the agent was revealed to them by one of three suspects arrested for the bombing. "One of the suspects said [the military agent] was the one who provided the bomb," Barcena told abs-cbnNEWS.com.

One of the arrested suspects was identified by the police as Marjunie Ammala. He was arrested after being positively identified by witnesses.

The suspects, who were arrested near the city's port area on August 31, will be presented during a press conference on Tuesday.

Barcena said the Zamboanga City Police Office is now coordinating with the military to confirm the agent's involvement in the bombing.

He said the involvement of a military agent in the bombing "does not mean it was sanctioned by the military."

Police said the bomb was placed under a concrete bench at the plaza which was named after General John "Black Jack" Pershing who led US troops fighting the Muslims in Zamboanga and Jolo in 1899.

The bombing took place more than 24 hours after President Arroyo visited the city for a major command conference with military commanders in Mindanao.

The military earlier said al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf extremists might have been responsible for the bombing to divert the military's attention from offensives against the bandits on Basilan island.

source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/topofthehour.aspx?StoryId=91926