BASILAN (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 8, 2012) – Security forces arrested two Abu Sayyaf militants linked to the spate of terrorism and kidnappings in the southern Philippine province of Basilan, officials said Thursday.
Officials said Anni Edris and Serhad Akalon were arrested in separate operations in Sumisip and Isabela City this week.
Akalon was among over two dozen prisoners who escaped from the provincial jail in 2009, according to Army Colonel Ricardo Visaya, commander of military forces in Basilan, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.
He said troops also seized an M16 automatic rifle and a grenade from Akalon. “He was one of those who escaped from prison in 2009 and is facing various criminal charges from kidnappings to multiple murder cases,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.
Indris was among those who kidnapped and killed farm workers in the town of Lantawan in 2001 during an Abu Sayyaf raid on a rubber plantation.
Visaya said they have heightened security in Basilan due to increased attacks by Abu Sayyaf on construction firms working on various government projects in the province. He said most of the attacks were connected to extortion activities.
Just this week, militants also attacked a cell site of telecom giant Smart Communications in Lamitan City, but caused little damage to the facility located in the village of Parang Basak.
“We have deployed additional troops to guard government infrastructure projects and vital facilities in Basilan because of these attacks,” he said. (Mindanao Examiner)
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