ISIS may be falsely claiming responsibility over Basilan bombing —PNP

The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Thursday reminded the public not to immediately believe the claim of the militant group Islamic State that they were responsible for the bombing at a checkpoint in Lamitan City, Basilan that left 10 people dead.

"ISIS has been known to falsely claim responsibility for some violent attacks made by other groups as part of its propaganda to project an image of strength after battlefield debacles and complete failures to establish their caliphates in some parts of Iraq and Syria and quite recently in Marawi City," PNP spokesperson Senior Superintendent Benigno Durana said in a statement.

"It should not surprise us that ISIS is now claiming responsibility for this incident in Basilan," he added.

Durana cited an instance in which the terror group claimed responsibility over the Las Vegas shooting incident in 2017 that killed 59 individuals and injured 500 others. It was later found out that the perpetrator of the incident was a 64-year-old American man with no links to the group.

Calling it a suicide attack, the militant group has claimed responsibility for the deadly incident in Basilan, the island stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf group.

Earlier on Thursday, authorities announced the arrest of a 58-year-old cleric who was supposedly involved in the deadly explosion. According to military informants, the suspect had been helping foreign operatives reach Basilan from Malaysia.

According to Durana, the explosion was the "handiwork of the Basilan-based faction of Abu Sayyaf led by Furuji Indama resulting from a botched extortion attempt."

Durana said that police are coordinating with government troops and other local agencies to dig deeper into the incident.

"We have mobilized all available resources and personnel to strengthen defenses in other vulnerable targets," Durana said. —Anna Felicia Bajo/JST, GMA News