Philippines: Police focus on Shiite imam in blast probe, reject Islamic State claim
Philippine police believe a Shiite Muslim cleric was the likely target of explosions that killed two people in Manila, an official said on Monday, rejecting Islamic State claims of involvement.
Six others were injured when two explosions rocked the office of the imam, Nasser Abinal, in the capital’s busy Quiapo district on Saturday.
Oscar Albayalde, head of police forces in the capital, said the bomb was apparently intended for Abinal who is also government tax officer for the Manila region.
He was not at the office at the time.
“He admitted there were threats to his life in the past” while being questioned by police, said Albayalde.
The bomb was carried in a package by a hired delivery man who handed it over to an aide of Abinal just before it went off, killing them both.
As police were searching the blast site late Saturday, another explosion rocked the area, possibly from a second bomb planted earlier, said Albayalde.
“This has nothing to do with terrorism. There is no indication that this was done by a terror group, local or foreign,” he said.
The Islamic State group has claimed it staged the explosion.
“Five Shiites were killed and six others wounded in a bomb blast by Islamic State fighters …read more
