Muslim cleric likely target of Manila parcel bomb attack that killed two, police dismiss Islamic State claim
Six were injured in two blasts police say was apparently intended for Nasser Abinal who is also government tax officer for the Manila region
Philippine police believe a Shiite Muslim cleric was the likely target of explosions that killed two people in Manila, an official said Sunday, 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, Albayalde said.
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.