At least seven members of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte's
security team and two soldiers were injured in a roadside bombing ambush
by suspected Muslim militants. The attack took place ahead of the
president's planned visit to the south of the country, AFP reported
citing the president and the Armed Forces.
“The convoy was ambushed using an IED while traversing from Iligan City to Marawi City,” Armed Forces spokesperson Brigadier General Restituto Padilla said. The injured men were immediately airlifted to safety. Members of the president's official media team were also in the convoy, but were unharmed.
Soldiers carry on a stretcher a wounded member of Duterte's presidential security group
who was airlifted at an army camp in Cagayan de Oro after being hit in a roadside bomb attack
Lorenzana said that he advised Duterte to cancel his visit to Marawi, scheduled for Wednesday, as the situation is “still not under control.” The president chose to ignore the advice.
Never one to take the easy way out, the combative Duterte said that “The advice was to postpone. I said no, I will go there. And if possible, take the same route,” the president was cited by Reuters, and added that“Maybe we can have a little gunfight here, gunfight there.”
Philstar newspaper cited Padilla as saying the attack might have been staged by Maute, an Islamist group which pledged allegiance to Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL).
On Monday, Philippines police found a homemade bomb in a trash bin near the US embassy in Manila. According to National Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa, the Maute group may have been behind the attack. Explosives experts successfully conducted a controlled detonation of the bomb.
Earlier the Philippines military launched raids against Maute members in the mainly-Muslim rural town of Butig, some 800km from Manila and just 50km from Marawi, where Duterte is heading on Wednesday. According to the military, some 35 militants were killed in the operation. Maute was also linked to the bombing in Davao in September this year. That attack claimed 15 lives with dozens more injured.
Source
"My advance party was ambushed a while ago. The Presidential
Security Group was hit by an IED." Duterte
said.
An explosive device planted along the road detonated when the
presidential convoy headed to Marawi, the capital of Lanao del Sur
province on the island of Mindanao, the second-largest island of the
Philippines. “The truck carrying the president's advance security detail
was hit by an improvised explosive device,” Defense Secretary Delfin
Lorenzana said, as cited by Reuters. “There was no firefight.” Security Group was hit by an IED." Duterte
said.
“The convoy was ambushed using an IED while traversing from Iligan City to Marawi City,” Armed Forces spokesperson Brigadier General Restituto Padilla said. The injured men were immediately airlifted to safety. Members of the president's official media team were also in the convoy, but were unharmed.
who was airlifted at an army camp in Cagayan de Oro after being hit in a roadside bomb attack
Lorenzana said that he advised Duterte to cancel his visit to Marawi, scheduled for Wednesday, as the situation is “still not under control.” The president chose to ignore the advice.
Never one to take the easy way out, the combative Duterte said that “The advice was to postpone. I said no, I will go there. And if possible, take the same route,” the president was cited by Reuters, and added that“Maybe we can have a little gunfight here, gunfight there.”
Philstar newspaper cited Padilla as saying the attack might have been staged by Maute, an Islamist group which pledged allegiance to Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL).
On Monday, Philippines police found a homemade bomb in a trash bin near the US embassy in Manila. According to National Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa, the Maute group may have been behind the attack. Explosives experts successfully conducted a controlled detonation of the bomb.
Earlier the Philippines military launched raids against Maute members in the mainly-Muslim rural town of Butig, some 800km from Manila and just 50km from Marawi, where Duterte is heading on Wednesday. According to the military, some 35 militants were killed in the operation. Maute was also linked to the bombing in Davao in September this year. That attack claimed 15 lives with dozens more injured.
Source