Alleged Maute couple apprehended in CDO

MANILA - Authorities arrested on Wednesday, June 6, an alleged member of the Maute terror group and his wife in Cagayan de Oro City.

Eyadzhemar Abdusalam, also known as Medical Jihad, was allegedly among those who planned to stage an attack during the Black Nazarene feast in January. He also allegedly considered plotting an attack during other catholic festivities, particularly in Zamboanga City.

Chief Superintendent Timoteo Pacleb, Police Regional Office - Northern Mindanao (PRO10) director, said Abdusalam and his wife Catherine Dianne Palmitos were arrested at a checkpoint around 4:50 p.m. in Cagayan de Oro City on Wednesday.

Pacleb said both husband and wife are members and supporters of the Maute group, a extremist organization inspired by global terror group Islamic State.

Recovered from them were a fragmentation grenade and a caliber .45 pistol with magazine and ammunition inside a backpack.

Pacleb said Abdusalam, a licensed Emergency Medical Technician and a Nursing graduate from General Santos City, was monitored by the intelligence community during the Marawi siege while he was sending medical supplies for the beleaguered Maute group.

Police monitoring also showed that the suspect has been soliciting financial support for the widows and orphans of the Maute fighters, manufacturing improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and recruiting foreign Muslims online to join the Maute group.

“At the time, he was also planning to travel to Syria to join ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria),” Pacleb said.

“He even instigated some foreigners to carry out lone wolf attacks in their respective countries, to include an individual in UK who was arrested in May 2018 by British authorities for planning to carry out an attack,” he added. Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo/SunStar Philippines