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Survivor of Basilan blast convinced of foreign identity of van driver


A survivor of Tuesday's Basilan attack is convinced that the driver of the van that exploded at a military checkpoint in Lamitan City was a foreigner.

Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit (CAFGU) soldier Gregorio Inso claimed in a report on News To Go on Thursday that the van driver was a man with Arabic features who had a difficulty speaking Filipino and Yakan.

International security analyst Dr. Rommel Banlaoi previously claimed that a Moroccan national member of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) perpetrated the attack that killed 10, including the driver of the van.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Colonel Edgard Arevalo said the bombing was neither a suicide attack, nor did it show any connections to foreign groups, especially ISIS.

Instead, the bombing was classified by the AFP as a planned attack on Lamitan's Nutrition Day celebrations by the group of Abu Sayyaf Commander Puruji Indama.

The AFP identified extortion as the main motive for the attack. — Rie Takumi/MDM, GMA News

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