MANILA: Following the explosion in Sultan Kudarat on Tuesday night that killed two and injured 37 others, a Malacanang official on Wednesday said extending martial law in Mindanao is very much an “option.”
Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea said the incident was not a good sign. “We’re trying to make it as easy as possible ... But if things like this still happen, what shall we do? Are we just going to sit around?” Medialdea said to reporters in an interview after the hearing for the 2019 budget of the Office of the President at the House of Representatives.
“Lives are in danger. There’s an explosion during a festival? How would you feel?” he said.
Asked if there’s a need to extend further the implementation of martial law in Mindanao in the light of the Sultan Kudarat explosion, the Malacanang official said: “It’s an option.”
Martial law in Mindanao was declared on May 23, 2017, after the Marawi siege broke out.
Meanwhile, authorities believe the Turaife faction of Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), led by Esmael Abdulmalik, alias “Abu Turaifie,” was behind Tuesday’s attack.
The BIFF Toraife, is a Daesh-inspired group. Daesh Philippines, also called “IS Philippines Province,” which comprises several groups including remnants of the Maute Group and defected factions of the notorious Abu Sayyaf Group.
The blast occurred at 8:34 p.m. at a crowded night market along the national highway in Isulan town, which was celebrating the 61st anniversary of its founding.
Killed in the explosion were a 52-year-old woman and a seven-year-old girl, while those injured include two army troopers and a government militiaman.
Amaq news agency said that Daesh targeted the Philippines Army in this blast.
However, Brig Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, commander of 6th Infantry Division, said that local Daesh affiliates could have perpetrated the bombing.
“They say Daesh has claimed responsibility of the attack but as far as we are concerned ... we already have a lead. We are continuously validating. But the likelihood of Abu Sayyaf or the ‘Daulah Islamiyah’ Turaife group is very high,” Sobejana told reporters.
“Anyway, we are here on the ground. We are trying our best to bring back normalcy in the area,” he added.
Sobejana added that they already have several witnesses, noting that the bomber was seen in plain view.
The incident comes almost a month after what is said to be the first suicide bombing in the Southeast Asian nation, carried out by an alleged Moroccan Daesh soldier in Lamitan City, Basilan, which killed 11 people.
The attacks were perpetrated amid stringent security measures as martial law remains in effect in the Mindanao region.
Meanwhile, Department of National Defense spokesperson Arsenio Andolong acknowledged that the threat of terrorism persists in the island despite losses suffered by groups linked to Daesh during the Marawi siege last year.
Andolong said this when asked to comment on a United Nations report released this month. It says Daesh-linked groups behind the Marawi siege are “regrouping, reactivating training camps and recruiting, attracting hundreds of followers both inside and outside the Philippines.”
“About the training camps I cannot confirm at this time ... But they’re trying to regain their lost footing in Mindanao,” Andolong told Arab News.
On Mindanao being a magnet for foreign fighters, Andolong said: “That is true. We stated that before and if you remember during the Marawi rebellion, no less than Daesh itself called for their members to proceed to Mindanao.
“Of course, we will not say there are no more activities (from these groups); there are still bits and pieces of them working. They’re trying to penetrate our security network in Mindanao and that’s part of the problem because (with) the porous borders we have down south, it is not far-fetched that there may be elements of them still lurking around,” he added.
Andolong added that the government was actively working to secure Mindanao, but the terrorists were also not sitting idly and seemed to continuously find ways to breach security. “So it’s an ongoing thing,” he said.
Asked what makes Mindanao a magnet to extremists, Andolong cited the “environment,” which he said is ripe for finding people who are sympathetic to their cause, which is to create a caliphate; the porous borders which help them come in and go out as they please; and the high poverty level.
“So all the ingredients are there. Like in Lanao province, we all know the poverty level is really very high, so it’s quite easy to lure in the young and gullible to join their ranks. The terrorists see this and they know this is something they can exploit. But of course we are doing our best to curb it,” said Andolong.
Philippines says extending martial law in Mindanao an ‘option’ after recent Daesh attack
Philippines says extending martial law in Mindanao an ‘option’ after recent Daesh attack
- Terrorism persists in Mindanao despite heavy losses suffered by groups linked to Daesh during Marawi siege last year
- Malacanang acknowledged extension of martial law in Mindanao is an “option” after recent terror attack
Ukrainian hit on occupied southern village kills 3: Moscow-installed official
“At the moment, we know about three killed civilians”
MOSCOW: Russian occupational authorities in southern Ukraine said Saturday that a Ukrainian strike on a Moscow-held village in the Kherson region killed three people.
Vladimir Saldo, the Moscow-installed leader of the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine’s Kherson region, accused Kyiv of using cluster munitions in a strike on the village of Oleshky.
Oleshky lies close to the city of Kherson and near the Dnipro river, which forms the frontline in southern Ukraine.
“Ukrainian terrorists shelled Oleshky with cluster munitions and remote mine-clearing systems,” Saldo said in a post on Telegram.
“At the moment, we know about three killed civilians,” he added, saying the victims are being identified.
He called on villagers to stay in their homes or in shelters.
Both sides in the almost three-year war have accused each other of using cluster munitions.
The US has supplied cluster munitions — which rights groups say are particularly deadly and have long-term effects — drawing criticism even from its allies.
Kyiv, meanwhile, said that four people were wounded by Russian attacks in the Kherson region on Saturday.
Seoul court rejects second request to extend Yoon detention
- Yoon Suk Yeol was arrested last week on insurrection charges
- Becomes first sitting South Korean head of state to be detained in a criminal probe
SEOUL: A Seoul court rejected a second request Saturday to extend the detention of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed attempt to declare martial law, putting pressure on prosecutors to quickly indict him.
Yoon was arrested last week on insurrection charges, becoming the first sitting South Korean head of state to be detained in a criminal probe.
His December 3 martial law decree only lasted about six hours before it was voted down by lawmakers, but it still managed to plunge South Korea into its worst political crisis in decades.
The Seoul Central District Court on Saturday turned down a request for a detention extension, prosecutors said in a brief statement.
This follows a ruling by the same court a day earlier when a judge stated it was “difficult to find sufficient grounds” to grant an extension.
Prosecutors had planned to keep the disgraced leader in custody until February 6 for questioning before formally indicting him, but that plan will now need to be adjusted.
“With the court’s rejection of the extension, prosecutors must now work quickly to formally indict Yoon to keep him behind bars,” Yoo Jung-hoon, an attorney and political commentator, said.
Yoon has refused to cooperate with the criminal probe, with his legal defense team arguing investigators lack legal authority.
The suspended president is also facing a separate hearing in the Constitutional Court which, if it upholds his impeachment, would officially remove him from office.
An election would then have to be held within 60 days.
Kabul residents name their newest mosque after Gaza
- Gaza Mosque is located in Qua-ye-Markaz, near Kabul’s famous carpet market
- Opened this month, the two-story mosque was funded from public donations
KABUL: In an act of solidarity and to honor the victims of Israel’s war on Gaza, residents of the Afghan capital have named their newest mosque after the Palestinian enclave.
Opened on Jan. 11, the Gaza Mosque is located in the Qua-ye-Markaz area of Kabul, close to business plazas and the city’s famous carpet market.
A two-story building, which can accommodate some 500 worshippers, it was funded from public donations on land provided by the Kabul municipality.
“The mosque was named Gaza Mosque to acknowledge the struggle and sacrifices of the men, women, children, youth and elders in Gaza in defending their land,” Hajji Habibudin Rezayi, a businessman who led the fundraising, told Arab News.
“There were a few name suggestions before the completion of the mosque’s construction, including Palestine, Aqsa and Gaza. Most of the campaign participants voted for Gaza as a symbol of solidarity.”
There is widespread support for Palestine among Afghans — many of whom know what it means to live under foreign occupation as they endured it during the 1979-1989 Soviet-Afghan War and the 20 years of war following the US invasion in 2001.
Afghanistan was the first non-Arab country to recognize the Palestinian National Council’s declaration of independence in 1948. Every successive Afghan government has stood by Palestine in the wake of Israel’s wars against it and the occupation of Palestinian land.
Since the beginning of Israel’s latest deadly assault on Gaza in October 2023, which has destroyed most of the enclave’s civilian infrastructure and killed tens of thousands of civilians, imams at Afghan mosques have regularly held special prayers for Palestinian freedom.
When a ceasefire was announced last week, celebrations were organized both in Afghan households and in public spaces.
“Afghans have been trying to help as much as they can to send support to Palestinians in terms of donations, prayers and other acts of solidarity,” said Abduraqib Hakimi, the imam of the Gaza Mosque.
“Every Muslim and human must have some solidarity with the people of Palestine and Gaza for what they have gone through during the past year and a half.”
Worshipers at the mosque told Arab News that they hoped that their country could do more.
“Israel’s actions in Palestine are nothing but genocide,” one of them, Asadullah Dayi, said.
“Innocent women and children were killed, and houses were destroyed. There has never been so much oppression in the history of Islam like the Zionist oppression of the Palestinians.”
Three years after restoring ties, Thailand sees growth in exchanges with Saudi Arabia
- Last week, Saudi FM led Kingdom’s delegation at inaugural meeting of Saudi-Thai Coordination Council
- With increase in trade relations, Thai Board of Investment opened an office in Riyadh in July last year
Bangkok: Three years into the reestablishment of ties with Saudi Arabia, Thais say that they are observing new opportunities and the growth of relations.
Relations between Saudi Arabia and Thailand were officially restored in January 2022, during Thailand’s former prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s visit to Riyadh, when the two countries agreed to appoint ambassadors for the first time in more than three decades.
The visit was reciprocated in November that year, when Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in Bangkok as a guest of honor at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and became the first Saudi official to make such a trip.
Many agreements and official exchanges have since followed. Not only the volume of trade between the two countries has significantly increased, but also people-to-people exchanges and political consultations.
The ties were further solidified last week, when Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan visited Thailand, leading the Kingdom’s delegation at the inaugural meeting of the Saudi-Thai Coordination Council. The meeting drove further bilateral cooperation in politics, consular affairs, security and military ties, culture, tourism, economy and trade.
Alhuda Chanitphattana, a Middle East expert from Bangkok University, told Arab News that while over the past three years there has been significant growth in various industries, especially tourism and cooperation between small and medium-sized enterprises, last week’s visit marked another milestone in relations.
“The Jan. 16 meeting was a hopeful step in the history of our ties,” she said.
“The Saudi foreign minister was here himself, bringing along the press, and the meeting was able to set up a number of significant collaborations.”
The Tourism Authority of Thailand estimated that since the restoration of ties, the number of Saudis visiting the Southeast Asian nation has risen threefold, as it expected 300,000 Saudi travelers in 2025.
Since the resumption of diplomatic relations in 2022, bilateral trade has grown by more than 30 percent, surpassing $7 billion. Key Thai exports include automobiles, wood products and canned seafood, while Saudi Arabia primarily exports crude oil, chemicals and fertilizers to Thailand.
The upside is seen especially in the automobile sector.
“Thailand’s car and car parts export to Saudi Arabia grew by 40-50 percent in the past year due to more demand in the Kingdom,” Chanitphattana said. “Thai mechanics are in high demand now.”
The establishment of a Thailand Board of Investment office in Riyadh in July 2024 has also underscored the country’s commitment to supporting Saudi Vision 2030 and attracting investors from the Kingdom.
“There was a Thai exporter of essential oils who was earlier based in Dubai, but after 2022, he moved to Riyadh and opened an office in King Abdullah Financial District,” Chanitphattana said, adding that the Thai Chamber of Commerce is open to helping other businesses match with Saudi counterparts.
One such entrepreneur is Manoj Atmaramani, who in 2022 was among the first Thais to join a hotel, restaurant and cafe/catering event in Saudi Arabia.
That visit bore fruit. Today, Atmaramani exports tea and coffee products to the Kingdom and his business is growing.
“Now Saudi people can travel here, and Thai people can travel there. I have taken many Saudi businesspeople to my factory. I have also visited coffee factories in Saudi Arabia. I would advise the Thai businesspeople to present themselves at the business exhibitions in Saudi Arabia,” he said.
“Saudi Arabia is my first export market outside of Southeast Asia. My product lines have expanded since.”
South Korea to release preliminary report of Jeju Air crash by Monday
- One area under investigation is what role a bird strike played in the Dec. 29 crash of flight 7C2216
- It will take several months to analyze and verify flight data and cockpit voice recordings
SEOUL: South Korea will release by Monday a preliminary report on last month’s Jeju Air plane crash that killed 179 people, the deadliest air disaster on the nation’s soil, the transport ministry said on Saturday.
One area under investigation is what role a bird strike played in the Dec. 29 crash of flight 7C2216 as it arrived at Muan International Airport from Bangkok, according to a ministry statement.
The report will be sent to the International Civil Aviation Organization as well as the United States, France and Thailand, the ministry said. Seoul has been cooperating with investigators from the US National Transportation Safety Board and France’s Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety.
It will take several months to analyze and verify flight data and cockpit voice recordings, which stopped recording four minutes and seven seconds before the crash, and communication recordings with the control tower, the ministry said.
At 08:58:11 a.m., the pilots discussed birds flying under the Boeing 737-800, then declared mayday at 08:58:56, reporting a bird strike while the plane was on a go-around, the statement said. Airport CCTV footage also showed the plane making “contact” with birds during the go-around, it said.
Previously the ministry had said the pilots issued the distress signal due to bird strikes before going around.
The jet crashed at 9:02:57 a.m., slamming into an embankment and bursting into flames that killed everyone aboard except for two crew members in the tail section.
The surveillance footage was taken from too far away to see if there was a spark from the bird strike but it “confirmed the plane making contact with birds, though the exact time is unclear,” a ministry official told Reuters.
Duck feathers and blood were found in both of the plane’s GE Aerospace engines, the ministry said.
The ministry said it would conduct a separate analysis of the role of the concrete embankment that supported navigation antennas called “localizers.” The ministry said on Wednesday that it would remove the embankment, which experts said likely made the disaster more deadly.
