ZAMBOANGA CITY, 27 December 2003 — An army soldier was killed yesterday when a homemade bomb he was trying to defuse across Jolo Airport in the southern Philippines exploded, officials said.

The bomb, concealed inside a cardboard box, exploded at around 1.15 p.m., wounding another soldier, said Col. Fredesvindo Covarrubias, chief of the military Civil Relations Group in Mindanao.

Investigators said they were looking into the possibility that the bomb was detonated by remote control while it was being defused. The two victims belonged to an explosive ordnance unit.

Another army officer, Col. Susulan Salappudin, identified the slain soldier as Master Sergeant Nestor Escobido and the wounded as Sergeant Tagulera.

“The device exploded on Escobido, who died on the spot due to serious burns and injuries,” Salappudin said.

A second bomb was also recovered and defused by air force bomb specialists on a road near the airport where patrolling troops frequently pass, Covarrubias said.

He said the bomb that exploded was discovered by civilians, who are helping the military and police guard their communities.

No group has come forward to take responsibility, but the Abu Sayyaf group once linked to Osama Bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda terror network is known to operate in Jolo island, about 950 km from the Philippine capital.

It was also unknown if the foiled bombings were connected to the capture by troops on Dec. 7 of a senior Abu Sayyaf leader Galib Andang, alias Commander Robot.

The rebel leader was shot at least 10 times in both legs following a firefight in Indanan town after troops stormed his hideout. Abaya said Andang is one of the most wanted man in the Philippines and topped the military’s “order of battle.”

Last year, guerrillas detonated bombs in Zamboanga City, killing dozens of people, including a Filipino soldier and a US trooper participating in a joint RP-US anti-terrorism warfare.