“This is no longer isolated, but orchestrated.” Yes, and on an international scale. More on this story. “Twin Blasts Linked To Al-Qaeda Kill 6, Injure 40 Others,” from AFP, July 8 (thanks to Sr. Soph):
JOLO: At least six people were killed and more than 40 wounded by twin bomb blasts in southern Philippines on Tuesday, in what officials described as coordinated attacks by al Qaeda-linked militants.
The first bomb exploded in a commercial area on Jolo island, killing six people and wounding around 30, police said. It was followed around two hours later by car bomb blast next to a parked military patrol jeep in Iligan city.
The second blast wounded at least 10 people, including three soldiers, the military said.
Jolo, in the southern Philippines, is a stronghold of Abu Sayyaf Muslim rebels and the local anti-terror task force chief, Maj. Gen. Juancho Sabban, was quick to point the finger at the militant group.
“This is a signature bomb attack of the Abu Sayyaf,” he said, speaking on local radio. He added that the bomb was hidden beneath the saddle of a motorcycle that was parked outside a downtown hardware store….
Blancaflor, who also head a government anti-terror task force, said they still do not know if the attacks were coordinated or not. “But the effect of this is to sow terror.”
Tuesday”s bombings came just two days after a bomb exploded outside a Roman Catholic cathedral in Cotabato City, also in the south.
The number of deaths in that attack, which was blamed on the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), another Islamic rebel group, rose to six on Tuesday, when one of the more than 50 people wounded died of his injuries, officials said.
President Arroyo’s senior adviser for the south, Jesus Dureza, said the spate of bombings appeared to be coordinated. “This is no longer isolated, but orchestrated,” Dureza told reporters in Cotabato….