MANILA - Police in Cotabato City defused an improvised explosive device (IED) found Saturday inside the house of a suspect in the bombing of a night market in Davao City last September.

The police Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) team found the IED inside a bag at the house of 19-year-old Mohammad Chenikandiyil in Barangay Rosary Heights 7, through a tip from his house helper.

The bomb was made from an 81-mm mortar and could be triggered using a cellphone, said Senior Police Officer 1 Vernil Delos Reyes, leader of the city bomb squad.

Chenikandiyil was among four Davao blast suspects, also members of the Maute group, who were arrested in different parts of the province Friday evening.

• READ: 4 new suspects in Davao blast arrested in Cotabato

Baidan Lalaog, Chenikandiyil's grandmother, insisted her grandson is a religious businessman and was not involved in the September 2 explosion that killed at least 14 and injured 67 others.