POLICE on Wednesday arrested two suspects believed responsible for the failed bomb attack on the US Embassy in Manila on Monday.
Police said one of the suspects resembled the facial composite provided by an informant.
The improvised bomb made of an 80mm mortar shell, a blasting cap and a cell phone, was found by a barangay official from Bagumbayan, Bulacan.
Central Luzon police director Chief Supt. Aaron Aquino said the suspects were transported to the Manila Police Department Headquarters for questioning.
The failed bomb attack was earlier attributed to the Maute group or the Dawlah Islamiya, which has links with the Islamic State terrorist group.
National Capital Region Police Office Director Oscar Albayalde said that the two arrested suspects matched the description given by an eyewitness.
“Investigations and police operations are still ongoing. Most probably the Chief PNP could give an official statement by tomorrow, depending on the outcome of the investigations and operations if indeed the two persons of interest are involved and if they had other companions,” Albayalde said.
He added that neither of the suspects has yet admitted to being part of the Maute group.
Shortly after the improvised bomb was found, PNP chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa said the Maute group was apparently involved, and said the attack was an attempt to ease the pressure of the ongoing military offensive against them in Butig town.
Some 100 Maute rebels had sought shelter at the old municipal building of Butig after a fierce firefight with Army troopers in Brgy. Bayabao.
Also on Wednesday, Cardinal Orlando Quevedo of Cotabato condemned the bomb attack near a Catholic Church on Sunday in Sultan Kudarat and demanded justice for the survivors of the attack.
Senior Supt. Raul Supiter, Sultan Kudarat police director, said several witnesses positively identified one of two motorcycle-riding men who left the bomb, which exploded around 6:40 a.m. near the gate of the Our Lady of Hope Church in Barangay Saliao at the end of the first mass.
Three churchgoers sustained slight injuries and are currently recuperating at a hospital in Koronadal City.
“I appeal to our security police forces to ferret out those responsible and bring them to justice. Let us all be vigilant against acts of terrorism,” the Cotabato Cardinal said in a statement.
“It is an attack on innocent human lives. It is also an attack on freedom of religion and freedom to worship,” he said. With Vito Barcelo