Probers still clueless on Talayan mosque bombing

MAGUINDANAO --- The police is still clueless on who was behind Friday’s mosque bombing in Talayan town that left eight people wounded, among them a leader of a big Moro clan.Former Talayan Mayor Ali Midtimbang, 62, figurehead of the ruling clan in the municipality, and his son, Nathaniel, mayor of Datu Anggal, were emerging from a mosque after on obligatory Friday congregational prayer rite when two men hurled grenades over the fence of the worship site.They both sustained shrapnel wounds in different parts of their bodies.Six other worshipers were injured in the grenade attack, which caused panic among residents in the town proper of Talayan.The adjoining Talayan and Datu Anggal towns are located in the second district of Maguindanao.Relatives of the injured Midtimbangs said there is a possibility that an old family feud may have led to the bombing. Investigators are still trying to piece together the scattered pieces of the jigsaw. Let’s give them enough time to accomplish that, SeniorSuperintendentAgustin Tello, director of the Maguindanao provincial police, saidon Saturday.Tello has called on residents of Talayan and relatives of the blast victims to avoid speculating on the incident pending the outcome of investigation.One of the two motorcycles used by the bombers was found along a highway in Barangay Mapayag in Datu Anggal.Tello said they will tap experts from the Land Transportation Office and the police’s Highway Patrol Group to determine the owner of the recovered motorcycle.The regional chief executive of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Mujiv Hataman, and Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu have both assured to help in efforts to put closure to the bombing.Hataman personally facilitated the airlift of Midtimbang to a hospital in Davao City on Friday afternoon via the Maguindanao Airport in Datu Odin Sinsuat town.The Maguindanao provincial peace and order council, led by Mangudadatu, has condemned the mosque bombing. The police must do everything to identify the culprits and file corresponding criminal cases against them, Mangudadatu told reporters.Mangudadatu thrice survived roadside bombings in different towns in Maguindanao in the past eight years.He said he was saddened by the boldness of the bombers in setting off grenades inside the compound of the largest mosque in the town center of Talayan.Hataman said he has requested ARMM’s police director, Chief Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sindac, to personally oversee the ongoing probe on the bombing.