IT COULD have been a weekend of terror. Two suspected Abu Sayyaf terrorists were allegedly about to bomb the Commission on Elections head office in Manila on Saturday night-using a mobile phone as trigger-but they were arrested by the police, officials said. Three other alleged plotters escaped during a follow-up raid in Maharlika Village, a Muslim enclave in Taguig, Metro Manila, the military police said. The plot was uncovered just 10 days before the country holds its presidential elections. “We have foiled another terrorist plan,” National Capital Region Police Director Ricardo de Leon told the Inquirer. The two suspected bombers were on board a white Tamarax FX, parked in a dimly lit area on Cabildo Street in front of Plaza Roma, when they were arrested by a Western Police District mobile team at about 7:30 p.m. The Comelec headquarters and the Manila Cathedral are located in the area. “It was ready for trigger,” said Supt. Edgar Danao of the WPD intelligence and investigation division, referring to an improvised 60-mm mortar bomb and a cellular phone seized from the suspects. Full Story
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