AFP Chief: If suicide bombing angle in Jolo blasts is valid, foreigners did it

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief General Benjamin Madrigal Jr. on Wednesday said that if the angle of suicide bombing would be verified to have transpired in Jolo, Sulu foreign terrorists embedded in the Abu Sayyaf Group could possibly have done it.

"So far, sa ngayon wala pang Pilipino na maaaring magsagawa ng suicide bombing. Maaaring hindi pa ganoon kalalim 'yung ginawang indoktrinasyon ng teroristang grupo na ito," Madrigal said in an interview on GMA News TV's State of the Nation with Jessica Soho.

"Kaya kung sinasabi talagang suicide bombing, probably dayuhan," he added.

Moreover, Madrigal said that the military did not completely rule out the possibility of suicide bombing which the President claimed was what happened.

"Of course ang ating Pangulo ay may iba pang sources of information... hindi naman namin isinara 'yung posibilidad na ito [suicide bombing]," he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said that security officials are still investigating reports that a Yemeni couple participated in the suicide bombing at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral in Jolo which claimed at least 22 lives.

Lorenzana, however, noted that no terrorist group has publicly honored a "martyr" yet.

Madrigal believes that the ASG faction led by Hajan Sawajaan may have a hand in the bloody attack.

Small groups in Mindanao such as this have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) and have been trying to gain its recognition by launching terror attacks, he said. —  Dona Magsino/BAP, GMA News