BIFF planning to bomb GenSan – AFP
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said yesterday that the group of arrested Muslim rebel leader Mohammad Ali Tambako might have planned to conduct bombing activities in General Santos City.
This, after government forces found bomb-making materials during a search in the house occupied by Tambako in Doña Soledad Subdivision, Barangay Labangan in the city.
Lt. Col. Harold M. Cabunoc, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public affairs office (PAO) chief, said the search operation was conducted by combined elements of the Army’s Intelligence Security Group (ISG), the Philippine National Police (PNP) - Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), and the Army Explosives, Ordnance and Demolition (EOD) around 10:30 a.m. Monday.
“The government forces found bombmaking materials including detonating cords, assorted wires, blasting caps, Christmas light bulbs, sim cards and im- provised circuit boxes,” said Cabunoc.
“It is believed that Tambako and his men were planning to carry out bombings in the said area,” he added.
Tambako and four of his followers were arrested around 9:00 p.m. Sunday while on board a tricycle on their way to the seaport in Barangay Calumpang, General Santos City.
Earlier, Maj. Gen. Eduardo Año, Army 10th Infantry Division ( 10ID) commander, said that Tambako had been in the city for at least one week after he escaped a military dragnet in Maguindanao where there is an on-going offensive against the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).
Tambako was the acting chair of the BIFF when Umbra Kato fell ill from 2012 until his ouster in 2013, and later broke away with the bandit group in March of the same year due to differences with the BIFF chief of staff Mahimbong Anibang alias “Karialan.”
AFP records further show that Tambako is associated with the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and high value targets such as Zulkifli Bin Hir alias “Marwan”, Mauiyah, Omar Patek, Albader Parad, and Abdul Basit Usman.
He was also former member of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), and then the Moro Islamic Liberation Front ( MILF) before he crossed over to the BIFF, then later formed his own group, the Justice for Islam Movement (JIM) which is said to have about 70 armed members.
Tambako was flown to Manila last Monday and is currently detained at the PNP-CIDG.
Meanwhile, the AFP said that 177 Moro rebels have been killed, while 53 others were wounded and 10 captured, including Tambako, in the on-going law enforcement operations in Maguindanao that is now on its third week.
The latest BIFF fatality was killed Monday during an encounter with Marines in Barangay Pusao, Sharif Saidona Mustapha town.
The slain BIFF member was identified as a certain Karie Uga Dia, 18, whose body was claimed by his parents, Kagi Dia and Kalimadak Uda Dia.
AFP Chief- of-Staff General Gregorio Pio P. Catapang, Jr. commended the troops of AFP and PNP for the successful operations against the BIFF.