MANILA: Philippine security forces thwarted an imminent suicide attack in the island province of Sulu when they killed three suspected bombers, two of them Egyptians, officials told Arab News on Wednesday.

The military identified the  foreign militants only as “Abduramil,” described as 40-50 years old, and his son, “Abdurahman,” who is about 18-20 years old.

The third suspect was a Filipino member of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) under Hatib Hadjan Sawadjaan who is said to be the acting Daesh emir in the Philippines.

Information released by the military’s Joint Task Force Sulu (JTFS) stated that the suspects were spotted on motorcycles by troops from the Army 41st Infantry Battalion and 1102nd Infantry Brigade manning a checkpoint in Sitio Itawon, Barangay Kan Islam, in the municipality of Indanan, Sulu, around 4:50 p.m. on Tuesday.

The troops flagged down the trio, who opened fired at them. A gunfight ensued, resulting in the deaths of the suspected suicide bombers. They are thought to have been on their way to carry out a suicide bombing mission in Metro Jolo when they were intercepted.

Recovered from the suspects were one .45-caliber pistol, one hand grenade, and two vests rigged with explosives and triggering devices identical to the vest used by those behind the two suicide attacks in Indanan on June 28 and Sept. 8 this year.

According to reports, the Egyptian militants were thought to be the husband and son of the female bomber in the September attack, but Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), said they were still verifying this information.

He confirmed though that the two foreign fighters have been in Mindanao for about three years and may have been teaching bomb-making to local militants.

Sobejana likewise said that the soldiers set up a checkpoint in Barangay Kan Islam after they received information on a planned suicide bombing in Jolo.

An Army official, who asked not to be named, told Arab News that the plan to stage a suicide attack in Metro Jolo was revealed by an ASG fighter who was captured during a military operation last week. “So, there was a case built up and it turned out the information was accurate,” the official said.

Meanwhile, Sobejana said the foiled bomb attack could be “retribution” for the killing of Daesh leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi by US military forces in Syria.

“We can probably connect this to the death of Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi,” Sobejana said, adding that following the Daesh leader’s death, he immediately issued a directive to all JTF commanders to intensify security, intelligence gathering and checkpoints, on top of the focused military operations against suspect ASG lairs in the Sulu.

Sobejana likewise said the seven foreign terrorists are confirmed to have joined forces with the ASG, and also with the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in Central Mindanao.

Based on the US State Department’s Country Report on Terrorism 2018 released during the weekend, the “Philippines remained a destination for foreign terrorist fighters from Indonesia and Malaysia, and a potential destination for those fleeing Syria and Iraq.”

It also stated that Daesh affiliates active in the Philippines in 2018 included parts of the ASG, the Maute Group, Ansar Al-Khalifa Philippines (AKP), and elements of the BIFF.

The US continues to assist the Philippine government in its campaign against terrorism.

Russian Ambassador to the Philippines Igor Khovaev also recently said in a press conference: “Now we see that after the defeat of terrorist organizations in Syria, unfortunately, we cannot rule out the appearance of terrorists from the Middle East, the movement of terrorists from the Middle East to Southeast Asia.

“So all of us should be well prepared, I would say, how to ‘welcome’ those people if they can be called people.” Khovaev said that Philippines and Russia “will share sensitive information in this aspect ... (and) our intelligence agencies will continue to cooperate in this field.”