Injured	Killed
24	4

Date: 06 August 2010
Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/271070/us-christians-muslims-condemn-zambo-blast

The explosion at the Zamboanga City International Airport, which left a British national and four others dead, has been condemned by the United States and leaders of Christian and Muslim groups.

The blast took place a day before US Ambassador to the Philippines Harry K. Thomas Jr. was scheduled to visit the city for a series of activities.

“I deplore this heinous crime that victimized ordinary travelers. Our condolences to the innocent deceased and wounded victims of this brutal attack. We would like to extend our admiration to local authorities and the Philippine National Police (PNP) who moved swiftly to aid persons wounded by the blast,” Thomas said in a statement.

“The United States stands ready to offer any assistance requested by Philippine authorities so that those responsible may swiftly be brought to justice,” he added.

Zamboanga Archbishop Romulo Valles also condemned the bombing.

“Of course, we condemn that. It was a very evil act,” he said over church-run Radio Veritas 846 on Friday.

Valles said due to the attack many people were killed for no reason at all.

“There were lives that were lost…what is the purpose? That’s terrorism,” he said.

“It’s useless so I condemned that act,” added Valles.

Likewise, Muslim religious leaders from the National Ulama Conference of the Philippines (NUCP)-ZamBaSulTa Chapter and the Imam Council of the Philippines, Inc. (ICPI), joined the condemnation of the airport attack, saying violence is un-Islamic. Aleem Said

Ahmad Basher, ICPI chairman, said “Islam denounces terrorism (and every form of violence). A real and true Muslim does not hurt innocent people.”

“Whoever did it, does not respect the sanctity of life,” said Aleem Jamal S. Munib, regional chair of NUCP-ZamBaSulTa.

Thomas was supposedly scheduled to visit Zamboanga Friday but because of the bombing incident it was decided that his travel to Mindanano will be temporarily postponed to a still unspecified time.

He was scheduled to take part in two public activities. The first was a visit to a halfway house where victims of human trafficking were housed. A second was an activity against tuberculosis.

“Knowing that the PNP is working hard to investigate this tragic incident and understanding that my visit would require a great deal of security support, I have decided to postpone my travel in order to avoid distracting the PNP from their most urgent task – investigating this heinous attack,” Thomas said.

The US Ambassador said the issues he planned to address, including the US-RP joint effort to prevent trafficking in persons and our collaboration in the fight against tuberculosis remain priorities on the shared agenda.

“The United States stands with the Filipino people who work every day to enhance their peace and security,” Thomas said.

“I look forward to traveling to Zamboanga soon to reiterate our support on these vital issues and, I hope, to congratulate authorities on a successful investigation of this awful crime,” Thomas went on.

Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat identified the slain British national as Macker Charls, 69.

Among the injured were Sulu Governor Abdusakur Tan and his son, Maimbung, Sulu Mayor Samier Tan.

Lobregat, chair of the local crisis committee here, identified the suspected bomber as Renaldo Ampilado of Barangay Caragasan in this city. His body was shattered into pieces when the bomb explode while tied around his waist.

Only the head and lower portion of his body were left intact.

Four out of the 24 injured victims who were taken to different hospitals in Zamboanga died from shrapnel wounds they sustained from the bomb explosion that took place at about 6:15 p.m. Thursday.

Lobregat said policemen was able to identify the suspect through his Social Security System (SSS) and Zamboanga Electric Cooperative (Zamcelco) identification cards found in his wallet.

Gov. Tan suspects he was the main target of the suicide bomber since the bomber had really tried to approach him.

Tan sustained a slight injury in the lower left side of his abdomen, while his son escaped unhurt. (Roy Mabasa, Nonoy Lacson, Leslie Ann Aquino, and Edd Usman)