PAGADIAN CITY – Four Abu Sayyaf bombers were captured at dawn Thursday ahead of a grand Catholic celebration next week in Zamboanga City in southern Philippines, police said.
Police said various explosives and an improvised bomb, including five 40mm mortars, ANFO or ammonium nitrate fuel oil, ammunition, blasting caps and two cellular phones and ammonium nitrate hidden in a bamboo and plastic containers were among those seized from the men.
The terrorists, all from the southern province of Sulu, were captured after police commandos raided their hideout in the seaside village of Baliwasan Grande. The four men have been identified as Aljiver Habibula, 35; Omar Julaspih, 22; Rody Marail, 36; and Nash Amik, 32.
All are natives of Sulu and temporarily residing in the village of Baliwasan Grande, and natives of Sulu, according to Major Helen Galvez, a regional police spokesperson.
She said various law enforcement agencies and military forces participated in the security operations that led to the capture of the suspects.
Regional police chief Brigadier General Froilan Quidilla lauded the troops for the capture of the four men. He also urged the public to stay vigilant and report to authorities suspicious persons. “We encouraged the community to be more vigilant and report all suspicious persons in their areas,” he said.
Just recently, marine soldiers and police forces also captured an Abu Sayyaf fighter, Amran Dala, in the village of Mercedes.
Dala, a native of Basilan province, was being linked to the 2009 beheading of kidnapped Filipino man, Marquez Singson, and two Chinese nationals Michael Tan and Oscar Dee; and the 2015 bombing of a water pipeline in the province and the beheading of a soldier during an Abu Sayyaf attack there.
Zamboanga is to celebrate the month-long Hermosa Festival in October and is expected to attract thousands of Catholic faithful and tourists. (Zamboanga Post)
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