In late April and early May 2017, a series of bomb blasts occurred in the Quiapo district of Manila, Philippines. The first explosion took place along Quezon Boulevard at approximately 10:58 pm on April 28, 2017, injuring at least 14 people. The blast occurred while Manila was hosting the 30th ASEAN Summit, gathering Southeast Asian leaders in the city.
Philippine National Police (PNP) National Capital Region Director Oscar Albayalde confirmed the explosion was caused by a pipe bomb made with pyrotechnic powder. He ruled out terrorism as a motive and stated the bombing had no connection to any terror groups or to the ASEAN Summit. An initial investigation by the Manila Police District pointed instead to a possible local gang war. The following day, April 29, 2017, police said the attack was motivated by revenge: a father allegedly targeted three individuals who had mauled his minor child on April 26, 2017, after the child had been blamed for a theft.
The militant group ISIS reportedly claimed responsibility for the April 28 bombing through its Amaq News Agency. Philippine police publicly disputed this claim, stating there was insufficient evidence linking ISIS to the attack and asserting that witness testimony and physical evidence gathered at the scene indicated no involvement by "terrorist or threat" groups. The Armed Forces of the Philippines echoed this position, describing the ISIS claim as "pure propaganda" and characterizing the incident as an isolated case unrelated to the ASEAN summit.
One week later, on May 6, 2017, twin bombings struck the same district about two and a half hours apart. The first explosion occurred around 5:40 pm near the office of the Imamate Islamic Center on Gunao Street. According to police, a motorcycle driver delivered a package disguised as a bomb to the office of Atty. Nasser Abinal, president of the Imamate Islamic Center. The package detonated as it was received by Abinal's aide, Muhammad Baniga. The explosion killed two people — the motorcycle driver and Baniga — and injured at least four others.
The second explosion occurred around 8:30 pm near Norzagaray and Elizondo Streets, close to the site of the first blast, while police were conducting a media briefing about the earlier explosion. Two police officers were injured. Regional police ordered a lockdown of the area, and a bomb-inspecting robot was deployed to guard against the possibility of a third explosion.
The case documents a disputed attribution of motive, with Philippine law enforcement consistently maintaining that the bombings stemmed from a local dispute rather than organized terrorism, despite the ISIS claim of responsibility.
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