Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald Dela Rosa points at a part of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) found near the U.S Embassy in Manila. (Romeo Ranoco/Reuters)

Manila police on Monday safely detonated a suspected “improvised explosive device” that was found in a trash bin near the U.S. Embassy, linking it to terrorism. No one was reported injured.

Early Monday, a street cleaner named Winniefreda Francisco spotted what looked like a cellphone connected by red wires to a cylindrical device and alerted authorities, according to the Associated Press. Police responded to the scene, briefly closed a major road near the embassy and detonated the item.

In a brief statement, U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Molly Koscina confirmed that a municipal employee reported the discovery of a “device” to embassy guards, who in turn contacted police.

“We are thankful that the municipal employee and the PNP took quick and appropriate action to ensure the safety of all,” Koscina said, referring to the Philippine National Police. The embassy did not provide further details about the incident or update the travel advisory for U.S. citizens heading to Manila.

Philippine authorities have offered conflicting accounts of what, exactly, was found.

Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald Dela Rosa holds a part of an improvised explosive device found near the U.S Embassy in Manila. (Romeo Ranoco/Reuters)

Senior Superintendent Joel Coronel, chief of Manila Police District, initially told local media that the item found in the garbage was just “junk,” according to reports.

Chief Superintendent Oscar Albayalde, head of the National Capital Region Police Office, later described it as an “improvised explosive device” with a blasting cap, a detonator, a cellphone and a nine-volt battery as a power source.

Albayalde speculated that there was a link between the device found Monday and a bomb used in a Sept. 2 attack that killed 15 people in the city of Davao. Both included an 81-millimeter mortar shell, he said.

In a news conference, Philippine National Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa, the face of President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody “war on drugs,” noted that the device found Monday was similar to bombs used by the Maute extremist group, which has links to the radical Islamic State and has been tied to the Davao attack.

“Unless we get hard evidence, by analysis we can theorize this can be linked to Maute because of what happened in Davao,” he said.

Despite the stated lack of “hard evidence,” dela Rosa called Monday’s incident an act of “terror” and said he was mulling tighter security measures.

“We will ask mall authorities to also heighten security. We may revive checkpoints,” he said.

In recent weeks, Duterte’s public comments have raised concerns that he plans to suspend the writ of habeas corpus or even implement martial law. Dela Rosa denied that the bomb scare would be used to justify a crackdown.

“For God’s sake, the government will not use an incident that will cause panic, fear and undue harm to declare martial law,” he said. “We won’t use our own people just to cause trouble.”

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