AFP will investigate possible 'failure of intelligence'

MANILA — The Armed Forces of the Philippines has identified at least two persons of interest in the December 3 bombing of the Marawi campus of the Mindanao State University, an official said on Tuesday.

"Itong dalawa na ito ay pinaghahanap at pinaniniwalaan na kasapi ng remnant ng isang local terrorist group na alam naman natin na nag-o-operate doon sa area na iyon," AFP spokesman Col Medel Aguilar said in a televised briefing.

• At least 4 killed after explosion rocks Mindanao State University in Marawi

He did not disclose the identities of the individuals, but Aguilar stressed that they were being actively pursued by authorities.

"Napakahalaga ng coordination natin, una sa school at sa mga witnesses na makakapag-describe sa persons of interest or sa mga suspek na pwedeng involved sa pagpapasabog sa loob ng MSU, at dahil nga dito nagkaroon na tayo ng person of interest na ngayon ay hinahanap ng ating mga sundalo at kapulisan," he said.

Aguilar said authorities were not discounting the claim of the Islamic State terrorist group that it was responsible for the blast, despite AFP's statement that there were no longer any foreign terrorist group operating in the country.

The Islamic State on Monday claimed responsibility for the blast that killed at least four people and injured at least 50 others. On its Telegram channels, the ISIS said "soldiers of the caliphate detonated an explosive device on a large gathering of Christians... in the city of Marawi."

• FULL STORY: Islamic State claims responsibility for Mass bombing in Marawi

"Noong mga nakaraang validation, halos wala nang foreign terrorist fighters sa ating bansa, zero po, as in wala," said Aguilar.

"Pangalawa, even yung affiliation of the local terrorist group ay nahinto nang magkaroon ng incident sa Marawi," he added. "'Yung pagtatayo ng tinatawag na caliphate dito sa ating bansa ay hindi rin natuloy dahil nadurog po ang grupo ng mga terorista, kaya tumagal ng konti ang mga operasyon because the desire is really to destroy all components of the ISIS here."

"Now yung pag-amin naman ng ISIS palagi naman yun nilang ginagawa, sa iba-ibang sulok ng mundo, for whatever reason, siguro gusto nila matakot sa kanila ang mga tao," Aguilar also said. "Hindi naman natin dini-discount ang possibility na nagkaroon sila ng reconnection, or nagkaroon sila ng contact sa mga local terrorist group natin, kaya ito pa rin ay subject to investigation."

• Marcos condemns Marawi blast, calls for calm as probe starts

The AFP will also look into whether there was indeed a "failure of intelligence" on the part of the military, which led to the bombing incident. BARMM officials earlier reported that text messages warning that there would will be an attack circulated the night of the incident.

"Sa pagkalat ng sinasabing text messages, I am sure that this will be covered by the investigation that is being conducted now. So we just wait for the result or the completion of this investigation for us to answer the succeeding question kung meron bang failure of intelligence or not," said Aguilar.

"Kasi anuman ang sabihin natin, talagang nakalusot ang terorista sa pagsagawa ng kanilang masamang motibo but still they have to know the accountability of people if there was indeed a failure of intelligence or failure on the part of any part of the organization to prevent this kind of situation," he added.

• 2 persons of interest eyed in Marawi bombing: police

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