Security tight in Zambo after bombing

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Police tightened security following a recent bombing on a village called Tumitus that toppled a concrete electric pole and cut off power in the area about 82 kilometers from downtown Zamboanga.

Police said the bomber used ANFO or ammonium nitrate fuel oil, but would not say whether the blast was carried out by the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf or other rebel groups.

The military and the local government have not reported the bombing, but the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative (ZAMCELCO) only confirmed the blast on Monday after The Mindanao Examiner sought confirmation from cooperative officials.

Engr. Gannymede Tiu, ZAMCELCO general manager, confirmed the blast and said the bombing had damaged the pole. “The blast toppled one of the concrete poles and there was no report of casualties, although the blast cut off power in the area and repair works are going on as we speak,” he told The Mindanao Examiner by phone from his office here.

Tiu believes the bomber may have left the improvised explosive on the base of the electric pole to avoid being caught by patrolling security forces. “I believe the bomber never intended to target our electric pole, otherwise he should have bombed our substation nearby,” he said.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for the bombing, but previous attacks had been largely blamed on the Abu Sayyaf, a small, but notorious extremist group whose leaders have pledged allegiance with the Islamic State.

Security forces continue to fight the Abu Sayyaf in the neighboring island-province of Basilan, about 34.5 nautical miles south of Zamboanga. (Mindanao Examiner)

Zamboanga Electric Cooperative General Manager Engr. Gannymede Tiu reads The Zamboanga Post newspaper. Tiu says a concrete electric pole was bombed in the village of Tumitus, 82 kilometers from downtown Zamboanga, but there had been no reports of casualties, although the blast FXW R௺ SRZHU LQ WKH DUHD