Alert up in Davao following interception of motorcycle bomb

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine security forces have heightened their alert in Davao City after the military in Maguindanao province intercepted a motorcycle bomb supposedly headed there. Radio dzBB's Benjie Liwanag Jr reported Wednesday that members of the Army's 64th Infantry Division intercepted the motorcycle at a checkpoint in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao province on Tuesday afternoon. The motorcycle, which sustained a flat tire, was found to be carrying an improvised explosive device (IED) wired to a cell phone that would be used as a triggering device. The IED was detonated safely. Maj. Armand Rico, spokesman for the Armed Forces Eastern Mindanao Command, said the IED was reportedly prepared by a terrorist cell affiliated with the Jemaah Islamiyah. Authorities have described the Ji as the al-Qaeda's arm in the Southeast Asian region. The terrorist cell was reportedly headed by a certain Abdullah, Rico said. The motorcycle bomb was assembled in Mamasapano town in Maguindanao. "The IED was composed of TNT placed inside the air cleaner of said motorcycle, connected to a cell phone that served as a triggering device," Rico said. The driver escaped even before security forces found the abandoned motorcycle, he added. - GMANews.TV