MANILA, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) recently foiled a bombing plot that might have killed civilians in the southern Philippines, a military spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday.
Colonel Noel J Detoyato, chief of Public Affairs Office of the AFP, said the government troops in Maguindanao province from the southern Philippines received a report that someone was planning to transport an improvised explosive device (IED) to launch an attack.
The soldiers then stopped a passenger bus at a checkpoint in a town named Datu Odin Sinsuat from Maguindanao province and found the suspected IED inside the bus on Monday morning, said the spokesman.
Detoyato said the military explosive ordnance disposal team immediately arrived in the area and safely disrupted the suspected IED.
AFP declared, based on its source, the extremist group Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) were planning to transport the IED and conduct a terror attack in Cotabato City, a major city in the southern Philippines.
Carlito Galvez, AFP Chief of Staff, said the military would continue to intensify the checkpoints and operations against all terrorist and extremist groups that pose a threat to the Philippines. He also called on the Filipinos to stay vigilant.
The BIFF, a Daesh-inspired extremist group, was also blamed for conducting two terror attacks in the past two months which killed at least five people and wounded more than 40 people in the southern Philippines. However, the BIFF denied the accusations.
