MANILA // Philippine police officials have captured two local ISIL sympathisers who allegedly tried to detonate a bomb near the US Embassy and prompted authorities to raise a terror alert.
National police chief Director-General Ronald de la Rosa said Thursday the two militants, who were separately arrested on Wednesday, initially wanted but failed to detonate the homemade bomb at Manila’s seaside Rizal Park, their initial target.
The bomb, which was designed to explode remotely with the use of a cellphone, also failed to explode near the embassy on November 28 in Manila’s tourist and diplomatic section.
Police presented the handcuffed suspects at a news conference, where they also announced a terror alert, which means more road security checkpoints would be set up, and possibly more raids on suspected militant hideouts.
“Don’t get alarmed but stay alert,” chief dela Rosa said.
The militants, Rashid Kilala and Jiaher Guinar, belonged to a small Muslim militant group called Ansar Al-khilafa Philippines. After failing to set off the bomb, which was made from an 81mm mortar round, the two decided to leave the explosive in a trash bin near the US Embassy but again failed to set it off.
They wanted to impress ISIL and secure possible funding from the group, chief dela Rosa said. They also wanted to divert the military’s focus from an offensive against fellow Muslim militants in the south, he said.
* Associated Press
