InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5
MANILA, Philippines -- Two improvised explosive devices (IED) were found and defused by authorities in Maguindanao early Monday, the military reported.
The bombs were stashed inside a sack and left near the RP Metal Shop, a junk shop, in Tamontaka, Datu Odin Sinsuat town, said Brigadier General Rey Ardo, commander of the Army's 6th Infantry Division.
In a statement, Ardo said concerned citizens reported that unidentified men left the sack in the area at around 6:30 a.m. Immediately, anti-explosive ordinance team from the Army arrived and cordoned the area.
After clearing operations, troops recovered two 81-millimeter mortar rounds, a 12-volt battery and a clothes pin with electrical wires.
Col. Leopoldo Galon, spokesman of the Eastern Mindanao Command, said the sack where the bombs were stashed contained "markings from the BIFF (Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters)." The BIFF is the breakaway faction of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
At around 7:30 a.m., the bombs were successfully defused with no casualties.
