The National Bureau of Investigation is probing who could have been behind the series of bombings in Mindanao on Dec. 22, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Wednesday.
He said NBI agents had found some “circumstances” that could link the recent incidents of violence to the terrorist groups Dawlah Islamiyah and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.
Guevarra said the NBI had already complied with his order, and that it submitted to him before the New Year deadline a preliminary report on its investigation of the bombings in Mindanao that wounded 22 people, including six members of the military.
But he said the NBI’s findings were inconclusive, and that it would require more time to do a thorough probe into the bombings in Cotabato, North Cotabato and Maguindanao that took place three days before Christmas.
“The NBI submitted to the DOJ last week a preliminary report on the Cotabato/Maguindanao bombing incidents before Christmas, but their initial findings were still inconclusive,” Guevarra said in a text message.
“They are now conducting further investigation to determine if the perpetrators had any links with known terrorist groups operating in Mindanao.”
NBI Director Dante Gierran has assured Guevarra that his agents are continuously investigating the bombing incidents.
Nonetheless, Gierran has hinted that there were indications the Dec. 22 bombings might have been perpetrated by the Dawlah Islamiyah and BIFF terrorist groups.
“There were circumstances, even before the series of incidents, pointing to the Dawlah Islamiyah terrorist group and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters as elements who could be responsible thereof, Gierran told Guevarra.
He said NBI agents in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao “are continuously monitoring the group, together with counterparts in other law enforcement agencies, to identify the perpetrators.”
The NBI’s initial findings support the initial statement of the Armed Forces’ Western Mindanao Command who had earlier said it was considering the Dawlah Islamiyah and the BIFF as the groups responsible for the explosions.
Guevarra said he was giving the NBI until the end of January to come up with its final report.
“The NBI field operatives are still working on it. I will give them another month to complete their probe and submit a final report. We expect a progress report in January, he said.
Of the 22 injured people, the six military men belonged to the 62nd Reconnaissance Company of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division. A motorcycle-riding bomber hurled a grenade at the soldiers stationed near the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Cotabato City.
The Dawlah Islamiyah has reportedly denied the insinuations that they were responsible for the bombings, saying their fighters could not get inside Cotabato City without being intercepted.