ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / June 13, 2014) – Three Malaysian nationals, one of them trained by the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya in the southern Philippines, had been arrested in Sandakan town in the Malaysian eastern state of Sabah, reports said on Friday.
Malaysian authorities did not release the names of the three men, but one of them is a naval personnel and the other is a civilian who were said to have aided the entry of the militant to Sabah through the southern Filipino province of Tawi-Tawi.
The men were arrested during an anti-terrorism operation, the second in Sandakan since April where authorities also arrested 11 other militants.
It was not immediately known how Malaysia was able to track down the militants in Sabah, but it earlier foiled a terror plot which was supposed to be carried out in targets in India.
In the Philippines, the police said it heightened patrol at sea in the southern part of the region as part of a measure to strengthen security in area.
Senior Superintendent Rollen Arino, commander of the regional maritime police force, the efforts are aimed at securing the coastline and the sea against lawless elements and to ensure the safety not only of the region, but the citizens as well, especially those sea travelers.
“We have heightened security and double our patrol to ensure the safety of the region and the people against lawless elements,” he told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
He also appealed to the public to help authorities fight lawlessness by providing information to the police and military. (Ely Dumaboc)
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