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Police: Muslim imam target of Manila bombing
[AFP] Police investigators said that a Muslim cleric was the likely target of explosions that killed two people in Quiapo, Manila, on Saturday, rejecting the Islamic State claim that it was behind the attacks. The blasts that occurred three hours apart injured six persons. The explosions rocked the office of the imam, Nasser Abinal.Oscar Albayalde, head of the National Region Police Office, said the bomb was apparently intended for Abinal, who is also government tax officer for the Manila region. Abinal was not at the office at the time. "He admitted there were threats to his life in the past," while being questioned by police, Albayalde said. The bomb was carried in a package by a hired delivery man who handed it over to an associate of Abinal just before it went off, killing them both. As police were searching the blast site late Saturday, another blast shook the area, possibly from a second bomb planted earlier. Albayalde said, "This has nothing to do with terrorism. There is no indication that this was done by a terror group, local or foreign." The Islamic State group has claimed it staged the bombing. A statement from Amaq, IS's propaganda arm, said, "Five Shiites were killed and six others wounded in a bomb blast by Islamic State fighters in the center of Manila." Albayalde said this was simply the IS custom of taking credit for any such incidents. He said the attack seemed to have targeted Abinal, adding that it may be for personal reasons, his work or his religion. Just over a week ago, another blast wounded 14 people in Quiapo as Southeast Asian leaders were meeting for a summit a few kilometers away. The IS also claimed responsibility for the April 28 explosion. Posted by: ryuge 2017-05-08 |
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