MANILA // Philippine police believe a Shiite cleric was the likely target of explosions that killed two people in Manila, an official said on Sunday, rejecting ISIL 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, the head of police forces in the capital, said the bomb was apparently intended for Mr Abinal who is also the Manila region’s government tax officer.
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, said Mr Albayalde.
The bomb was carried in a package by a hired delivery man who handed it over to an aide of Mr Abinal just before it went off, killing them both.
As police were searching the blast site late on Saturday, another explosion rocked the area, possibly from a second bomb planted earlier, said Mr Albayalde.
“This has nothing to do with terrorism. There is no indication that this was done by a terror group, local or foreign,” he said.
ISIL claimed to have carried out the explosion, but Mr Albayalde said the group was just trying to take credit, as is its custom for such incidents.
The extremists have carried out attacks in other countries on Shiite sites and events. Mr Albayalde said that in this case, however, the attack seemed to only be targeting Mr Abinal, whether for personal reasons, his work or his religion.
Tension were high after the blasts, with police cordoning off the area again on Sunday after a suspicious bag was spotted.
A bomb disposal robot later established it was a false alarm.
President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesman Ernesto Abella urged the public to stay alert but avoid spreading “unverified” news that may cause panic.
The Philippines is a mainly Catholic country but has a significant Muslim minority, some of whom live in the district of Quiapo.
On April 28, another explosion injured 14 people in Quiapo as South-east Asian leaders were meeting for a summit a few kilometres away.
ISIL claimed responsibility for that explosion too, but police insisted it was not a terrorist attack and not related to the gathering of political leaders.
Local Muslim militants who have pledged allegiance to ISIL are based in the southern Philippines, hundreds of kilometres from Manila.
* Agence France-Presse
