Suspected bomb couriers arrested in Gensan

GENERAL SANTOS CITY- Two suspected bomb couriers were intercepted on Monday at a military checkpoint in Barangay Sinawal, this city.

Col. Aden Lagradante, city police chief , identified the suspects as Kamlon Camsa, 64, said to be a ranking leader of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), and his niece, Fayno Camsa, 45, both residents of Bagumbayan, Sultan Kudarat.

Police said the two were on a passenger bus from Koronadal City when Army soldiers manning a checkpoint stopped the bus for a routine check.

When soldiers inspected the bag the Camsas were carrying they found a fragmentation grenade and a blasting cap for improvised explosive device (IED).

Earlier Monday, police and military operatives raided the house of Camsa in Barangay Kapaya, Bagumbayan, and seized several firearms, including a M-16 rifle and a .45 caliber pistol, IED components and an ISIS flag.

Col. Reynaldo Celestino, Sultan Kudarat police director, said the raiding team arrested Hassan Akgun, a Swedish national, Abedin Camsa, Normia Antao Camsa and Norshiya Joven Camsa on suspicion of involvement with a local terrorist group.

Security forces then tried to track down Kamlon Camsa, following reports that he fled to General Santos during the raid on his house in Bagumbayan.

Kamlon denied any links to the terrorist group, saying he was on his way to the city to attend the meeting of an irrigators association. He said he is the president of a local irrigators group in Bagumbayan.

Police are determining if Camsa and his cohorts were involved in the Sept. 7 bomb attack in front of a public market in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat, which injured four people.