MAGUINDANAO - Members of the Philippine Army's Explosive and Ordnance Disposal Team successfully defused an improvised explosive device (IED) planted along the national highway in Barangay Rebuken, Sultan Kudarat in Mindanao Saturday afternoon.

The IED was made out of flash powder mixed with metal fragments placed inside a plastic pipe, with an analog clock as a triggering device.

A concerned citizen called the police station around 1:30 p.m. about a suspicious item he found along the highway while he was looking for firewood.

Upon checking, authorities found the IED, which was promptly defused.

Authorities have yet to identify the perpetrators as well as the motive behind the crime, but Sultan Kudarat Mayor Datu Shameem Mastura told ABS-CBN News that he might be the target of the bomb attempt.

Mastura came from Northern Kabuntalan in Maguindanao at that time and was supposed to pass by the area where the bomb was recovered.

He also claimed the attempt might be connected to politics, adding that he has been receiving bomb threats.