--- description: Philippines police safely detonated an IED found in a trash bin meters away from Manila's U.S. Embassy on Monday morning. title: Police Defuse Bomb Found Outside U.S. Embassy in Manila image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Philippine Police Defuse a Bomb Found Outside the U.S. Embassy in Manila by [Joseph Hincks](/author/joseph-hincks/) ## Joseph Hincks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 28, 2016 7:44 AM CUT by [Joseph Hincks](/author/joseph-hincks/) ## Joseph Hincks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 28, 2016 7:44 AM CUT Philippine police safely detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) found in a trash can meters away from the U.S. Embassy in Manila Monday. Police said the bomb was similar to the device that[ killed at least 14 ](http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/812298/dozens-wounded-in-davao-night-market-blast "undefined")people when it exploded at a teaming night market in the southern city of Davao on Sept. 2, the _Philippine Daily Inquirer_ [reports](http://globalnation.inquirer.net/150176/ied-found-us-embassy-used-davao-blast-ncrpo "undefined"). National Capital Region Police Office chief Superintendent Oscar Albayalde told the _Inquirer_ that the 81-millimeter mortar inside the package “was the same found in Davao.” If it had exploded, he added, it could have affected everything within a 100-meter radius. The device was discovered by a street sweeper early morning local time who contacted local authorities. Nobody immediately claimed responsibility for the attempted bombing. “We are thankful that the municipal employee and the PNP took quick and appropriate action to ensure the safety of all,” said U.S. Embassy Press Attache Molly Koscina in a statement on Monday. > [](https://twitter.com/gmanews/status/803095128881516544) After the September bomb attack on Davao City, President Rodrigo Duterte placed the Philippines under an indefinite “[state of national emergency](http://time.com/4479616/rodrigo-duterte-philippines-obama-davao-blast/ "undefined"),” which gave the police and armed forces special powers to “suppress any and all forms of lawless violence.” Philippine National Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa [told reporters](https://www.facebook.com/gmanews/videos/10154560388586977/ "undefined") in a press briefing that he would consider reinstating checkpoints in Manila as a security precaution. “We will ask mall authorities to also heighten security. We may revive checkpoints,” he said. Dela Rosa [said that militants](http://globalnation.inquirer.net/150178/bato-ied-found-near-us-embassy-possibly-connected-maute-group "undefined") from the Maute group, whose members were allegedly behind the Davao bombing, likely planted the device Manila. On Sunday, about 19 members from Maute group died during a Philippine army offensive in the southern province of Lanao del Sur, Agence France-Presse [reports. ](http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/28/16/19-maute-group-members-killed-afp "undefined") \[[_Philippine Inquirer_](http://globalnation.inquirer.net/150176/ied-found-us-embassy-used-davao-blast-ncrpo "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4583125/philippines-bomb-us-embassy-manila/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4583125/philippines-bomb-us-embassy-manila/"},"headline":"Philippine Police Defuse a Bomb Found Outside the U.S. Embassy in Manila","datePublished":"2016-11-28T07:44:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T02:00:00.067Z","description":"The device is reportedly similar to the bomb that killed 14 in Davao City in September","url":"https://time.com/4583125/philippines-bomb-us-embassy-manila/","keywords":["Philippines","manila"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Joseph Hincks","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joseph-hincks/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4583125/philippines-bomb-us-embassy-manila/","name":"Philippine Police Defuse a Bomb Found Outside the U.S. Embassy in Manila"}}]}] ```