THE TWO suspects in last Sunday’s deadly bombing at a Catholic mass in the southern Philippine city of Marawi were found to be involved in other serious crimes, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Thursday.
Kadapi “Engineer” Mimbesa and Arsani “Lapitos” Membisa of Dawlah Islamiyah-Maute Group, which were both identified based on the description of the witnesses, were involved in previous bombing incidents in the provinces of Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte, PNP spokesperson Jean S. Fajardo said in a televised briefing.
They are also facing warrants of arrest for murder, she added.
The PNP official said another unidentified suspect who could have served as a lookout during the Sunday bombing is also being pursued.
Earlier, Ms. Fajardo said Mr. Mimbesa was the man seen by witnesses carrying the bag which contained the bomb used in the attack.
The bombing that killed four people and hurt 50 others took place at the Mindanao State University (MSU) gymnasium in Marawi, a city that had been devastated by a five-month war in 2017 between state forces and an Islamic State (IS)-inspired group.
The Philippine military earlier said the Sunday bombing could be a retaliatory attack as it happened after the killing of 11 local extremists by soldiers of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division in a clash in Datu Hoffer, Maguindanao del Sur on Friday, and the killing in Basilan of a Tausug leader of the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group, Mudzrimar Sawadjaan, on Saturday by soldiers and police. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza