Three soldiers were killed Friday when two suspected
Islamist militants detonated bombs at the entrance of an army camp in
the southern Philippines, also killing themselves, the military said.
Twelve soldiers were wounded in the attack on the camp in Indanan
town in Sulu province, 1,000 kilometres south of Manila, said Major
Arvin Encinas, a regional military spokesman.
The camp was the headquarters of the army's 1st Brigade Combat Team,
which was recently deployed to Sulu to help neutralize the Abu Sayyaf
terrorist group, the most violent jihadist organization in the
southern Philippines.
"This attack is meant to disrupt the [military's] intensified
security operations and our operational tempo following [a] series of
recent operational gains in the area," said army spokesman Lieutenant
Colonel Ramon Zagala said.
Encinas said the first bomber was accosted at the gate of the camp
upon inspection, but was still able to detonate the explosive.
"The other bomber was able to enter the gate and was also able to
detonate [the second improvised explosive device]," he added.
"The
second explosion happened less than a minute after."
Investigators were still determining the type of explosives used in
the attack and the identities of the bombers, but authorities were
not discounting the possibility that the Abu Sayyaf was behind the
bombing, Encinas said.
The attack occurred as a new regional military commander, Major
General Cirilito Sobejana, took his post in nearby Zamboanga City.
"We will intensify our offensives to crush terrorist groups that
hamper the stability and development in Sulu, ensuring that all
actions are in accordance with the law," he added.
The Abu Sayyaf is believed to be allied with the Islamic State
terrorist network and has been blamed for some of the worst terrorist
attacks in the country as well as high-profile kidnappings for ransom
and beheadings.
Soldiers walk past the body of a man slumped beside a tricycle following an armed attack in front of the temporary headquarters of the army's First Brigade Combat team, in Jolo on the southern island of Mindanao