Philippines bomb blamed on Abu Sayyaf
Online Desk
03 Sep 2016 05:52 AM
Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) personnel patrol the streets of Manila on September 3, 2016 as Davao city and central Manila is placed on high alert following an earlier bomb blast. Philippine authorities on September 3 blamed a notorious group of Isla
The Abu Sayyaf militant group was responsible for a bomb attack in the home city of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte which killed at least 14 people, the government has said.
Dozens were wounded in the blast at a market in the southern city of Davao, reports the BBC.
Mr Duterte-- who was in Davao at the time of the blast but was not near the market-- has declared a "state of lawlessness" following the explosion.
This allows troops to be based in cities to assist the police.
National Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said that Abu Sayyaf wanted to retaliate after suffering heavy casualties on its stronghold of Jolo island about 900km from Davao.
"We have predicted this-- and warned our troops accordingly - but the enemy is adept at using the democratic space granted by our constitution to move around freely and unimpeded to sow terror," Mr Lorenzana said in a statement.
