MANILA, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines will apply the full force of the law on the perpetrators of Tuesday's car bomb explosion that had claimed the lives of 11 people, said the defense chief on Wednesday.
"We will do everything within our power to get to the bottom of this incident and we will apply the full force of the law on the perpetrators," the Philippines Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said in a statement.
"I would like to say to those who are behind this cowardly and indiscriminate act of violence that justice will catch up with you and it will come in the form that you least expect and at a time that you will not predict," he added.
A "white van" was detonated at a military checkpoint in southern Philippine island of Basilan. The explosion killed 11 people, including six soldiers, four civilians and the driver at the scene.
The Philippine military said this van, loaded with improvised explosive devices, attempted to attack downtown of Lamitan City in Basilan island.
Lorenzana said the investigation has been conducted by a joint team of the military and police. The defense chief also urged the Filipinos "not to jump to any conclusion and just allow our investigators to do their job."
The Islamic State (IS) terrorist network has claimed responsibility for the car bomb explosion in Lamitan City.
However, the Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Edgard Arevalo said on Wednesday that there was the possibility that the IS was responsible, but he believed "any terrorist group or organization can conveniently claim responsibility and ride on the incident for their own glorification."
The military said earlier that the local terrorist group Abu Sayyaf Group had a hand in the blast.
The Abu Sayyaf Group has pledged allegiance to the IS and has carried out kidnappings for ransom of both foreigners and Filipinos.
"There is also a possibility that other groups besides the Abu Sayyaf Group could be responsible in that dastardly and cowardly terrorist act," Arevalo added.
