The Philippine military said Monday that an improvised explosive device rocked a southern city, damaging several infrastructures but causing no casualties. The military said that authorities are now conducting manhunt operations on a certain Commander Ramsey, the prime suspect in the explosion that occurred in Pagadian City of Zamboanga del Sur province on Sunday night. Military information chief Daniel Lucero said "lawless elements" headed by a certain Commander Ramsy are believed to be the perpetrators of the explosion that occurred in front of a drug store in Pagadian City of Zamboanga del Sur province on Sunday night, with extortion the group's motive. "Mercury Drug has received an extortion letter from Commander Ramsy on Aug. 24 so we believe they are responsible for the incident since the firm refused to heed to their demand for an unspecified amount of money," Lucero said.
However, the military spokesman dismissed the possible involvement of the MILF in the incident. "Commander Ramsey's group affiliation is yet to be identified." Investigators found no signs that the explosion was perpetratedby neither the kidnap-for-ransom group Abu Sayyaf nor the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), terrorist group in Southeast Asia linked with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist network, Lucero added. |