IED found in venue of humanitarian mission of Mangudadatu

MAGUINDANAO – Authorities foiled Wednesday an attempt to bomb the venue of a medical mission of Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu in Rajah Buayan town in this province.The improvised explosive device was found in Barangay Tabungao, Rajah Buayan by villagers before Mangudadatu and his brother, Mayor Freddie of the Mangudadatu municipality, could reach the area from the provincial capitol in Buluan town to launch the day-long activity.Freddie is president of the provincial league of mayors and the group’s anointed candidate for provincial governor in the May 2019 elections.Initial reports reaching the Police Regional Office-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao said the improvised explosive device was fashioned from three live 81 millimeter mortar projectiles wired together with blasting mechanism that can be activated from a distance.Personnel of the Army’s 40thInfantry Battalion and the Maguindanao provincial police managed to safely deactivate the IED promptly.Major Arvin Encinas, public affairs chief of the Army’s 6thInfantry Division, said their intelligence units are now helping the provincial police identify who was behind the botched bombing.Rajah Buayan Mayor Zamzamin Ampatuan said the humanitarian activities of the governor in Barangay Tabungao proceeded, albeit delayed.Part of the program was the inauguration of an elementary duplex classroom built by soldiers and local leaders using funds from the office of Mangudadatu.Suspected partisans with links to local militant blocs tried to kill Mangudadatu using IEDs five times in the past eight years.A provincial board member, Russman Sinsuat, was killed in one of the bombings.Rajah Buayan is near the Liguasan Delta where there is presence of the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, which operates in the fashion of the Islamic State.Police probers from the Maguindanao police and PRO-ARMM are not discounting the possibility that the botched bombing could also be politically-motivated.