Troops, police foil roadside bombing in Sulu province

From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 26): Troops, police foil roadside bombing in Sulu province

Government troops and policemen, with the help of civilians, on Sunday foiled a roadside bombing in Indanan, Sulu by defusing an improvised explosive device (IED).

Col. Rodrigo Gregorio of the Joint Task Force Sulu's information office, said the IED was discovered by local residents at about 1:40 p.m. at Km. 3 between Kajatian and Tagbak barangays in Indanan.

Gregorio said that when they learned of the IED from the residents, troops from the Army’s 501st Infantry Brigade and police immediately cordoned off the area, while the joint task force’s Quick Reaction Force scoured the vicinity for possible secondary devices or the presence of armed men.

He said an Explosive and Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team assessed and successfully defused the IED at 2:45 p.m.

Troops have recovered a 30-liter container filled with ammonium nitrate as the IED's main charge, a blasting cap and a 150-meter wire. The IED components were turned over to the Jolo Internal Defense Force.

He said that EOD personnel believed the IED was for passing troops but could have been more deadly to passing civilians.

Brig. Gen. Arnel dela Vega, Joint Task Force Sulu commander, attributed the successful recovery of the IED to the "vigilance and cooperation of the local residents and the timely action of soldiers and policemen”.

“Terrorism has no place in our society. The collective efforts of our people in collaboration with authorities have been proven to be a formidable weapon against terrorism. Let us unite in the fight against terrorists and make our communities safe and secure for our families, for our children,” dela Vega added.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=926266