Most wanted ASG bomb expert arrested; 6 Abus bolt Sulu jail
A notorious gunner and bomb expert of the Sulu-based Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) under top leader Radullan Sahiron and another ASG member were arrested as a result of the intensified operations of the military and police against the terrorist group.
Composite elements of the Joint Task Force Tawi-Tawi and the Provincial Police Office of Tawi-Tawi neutralized Abu Sayyaf and kidnap-for-ransom member Ibno Moro in Barangay Kamagong, Bongao, Tawi-Tawi at around 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
Moro, who has a standing warrant of arrest for murder, was a member of the late sub-leader Jul Asman
Sawadjaan who operated in Tawi-Tawi and Sulu.
Ranked as the Number 8 Most Wanted in the province of Tawi-Tawi, Moro was involved in the 1989 massacre in Barangay Lapid-Lapid, Bongao; 2002 kidnapping of Alvin Chua at the Chinese Pier in Bongao; 2004 kidnapping of Sibuto Mayor Kuyoh Pajiji of Sibutu; and 2004 murder of Rodrigo Alejandro Sr. and his son, Rodrigo Alejandro, Jr., in Barangay Buan, Panglima Sugala.
“This is another operational feat attributable to the efforts of our troops on the ground and the police,” Lieutenant General Carlito G. Galvez, Jr., the Commander of the Western Mindanao Command, said.
“Given the key involvement of Moro in various kidnappings perpetrated by the Tawi-Tawi based Abu Sayyaf members, the neutralization of the notorious bandit is deemed a big blow on the Abu Sayyaf and kidnap for ransom group, which has faced substantial loss as a result of our intensified operations,” he added.
Elements of Joint Task Force Zamboanga and the police also arrested Abu Sayyaf member Abdulmubin Kudalat Salamuddin, alias Mubin in Barangay Guiwan, Zamboanga City at around 10:45 p.m. Friday.
A fragmentation grenade was also recovered by government forces from Salamuddin.
Colonel Leonel Nicolas, Commander of the Joint Task Force Zamboanga said Salamuddin is a member of Sahiron and is trained by Jemaah Islamiyah member Amin Bacho, alias Jihad, in manufacturing Improvised Explosive Devices and improvised landmine in Sulu.
A gunner for the Abu Sayyaf, Salamuddin supplies firearms and ammunition to the Sulu-based terrorist group.
Suspected Abu Sayyaf gunmen abducted four workers from a school in Patikul, Sulu where President Rodrigo Duterte visited troops waging an offensive against the militants, officials said Sunday.
About 20 suspected Abu Sayyaf gunmen barged into a grade school compound in Patikul, Sulu shortly after midnight Saturday and seized six painters and carpenters, one of whom managed to escape and alerted the police. Army troops later rescued another worker.
Jailbreak Fourteen inmates of the Jolo Municipal Police Station in Sulu, six of them identified with the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), bolted early yesterday morning from their detention cell but three of them were killed during the pursuit operation.
Chief Supt. Reuben Theodore Sindac, director of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), said the three slain inmates – Julbig Alinjani, Budda Basali, and Midzfar Sabili - were all facing criminal charges relating to illegal drugs.
Sindac identified those with ASG connection as Makrim Habbisi, Alsimar Basali, Nasir Maldam, Albin Alibasa, Julhaber Sariol and Benjie Pandoga.
Another inmate who was wounded during the pursuit operation was recaptured. He was identified as Gummi Maimbung who is also facing drug charges.
“The Armed Forces of the Philippines has also extended their resources by using K9 and drone to track the escaped detainees,” he added.
Senior Supt. Mario Buyuccan, director of the Sulu Provincial Police Office, said the 14 inmates were able to escape by sawing off the metal grill of the detention facility at around 1:30 a.m. yesterday.
They then proceeded to the second floor and jumped out of the building.
The official said there were 38 inmates inside the detention facility.