IED event in North Cotobato, Pikit area, Philippines on Fri 16th June 2023

ZAMBOANGA CITY: Government troops recovered a roadside bomb in North Cotabato's Pikit town in southern Philippines although the improvised explosive lacked a mechanism that would have set it off, a security spokesman said. Maj. Andrew Linaw said villagers tipped off the military on the presence of the explosive in the Inug-ug on Thursday, which prompted soldiers to cordon off the area as members of the bomb squad assess the situation. "Troops immediately cordoned off the area, closed the road, and coordinated with the 33rd Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team for inspection and possible disruption of the IED. The EOD team further confirmed that the IED has incomplete components," Linaw said. IED means improvised explosive device while EOD is explosive ordnance disposal. He said the recovered bomb components included one unexploded ordnance, electronic wires, and a 9 volts battery. "The EOD team took the IED components to their headquarters for technical investigation and proper disposition," he said. Western Mindanao Command Chief, Lt. Gen. Roy Galido, ordered an investigation to identify the instigator of this "hideous form of violence." Just recently, soldiers disarmed three homemade bombs recovered in the village of Batulawan in Pikit town, and another improvised explosive in the village of Kadigasan in the neighboring town of Midsayap. Villagers tipped off the military about the bombs following an explosion in the area. The military said the bombs were intended to blow up a steel pylon of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines. No individual or group claimed responsibility for the failed bombings, but several Islamist groups operate in the province where several villages are under the Bangsamoro autonomous region.