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PHILIPPINES-BOMBINGS
Suicide bomber killed at Philippine army base
MANILA, Sept 9, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A suicide bomber dressed in a traditional
Muslim woman’s gown died after detonating a bomb outside a military camp in
the restive southern Philippines, but no other casualties were reported,
authorities said.
Suicide attacks were once very rare in the Philippines, but since July
2018 there have been four, including the latest explosion on Jolo island on
Sunday.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for all three previous suicide
attacks, which experts have previously told AFP is a worrying escalation of
extremism in the Philippines under the group’s influence.
According to a military statement, the attacker on Sunday was “foreign
looking”, wore an abaya gown and appeared to be a woman. However, authorities
had not confirmed the attacker’s gender.
No group has yet claimed the attack, which came a day after an IS-claimed
bombing wounded eight at a market on the island of Mindanao.
Separatist groups in the Christian-majority nation’s south have waged
decades-long insurgencies that have killed thousands.
This weekend’s attacks cast a shadow over a step toward a measure of peace
in the region. The largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front, began to lay down its weapons on Saturday.
While the MILF has brokered peace with the government, other more extreme
factions like jihadist group Abu Sayyaf continue to stage deadly attacks.
BSS/AFP/MSY/0902 hrs