By Hader Glang
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines
A suspected member of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf involved in kidnapping and illegal detention with ransom was arrested Thursday in the Philippines’ Muslim south.
Zamboanga City police chief Angelito Casimiro told reporters Rael Muharibil Jumadil - also known as Abu Mursan – was captured in a joint operation at around 8:30 local time (2.30 Turkish time) at a local wharf while disguised as a ferry security marshal.
"He [Abu Mursan] was arrested by the combined government forces by virtue of a warrant of arrest for the crime of kidnapping and serious illegal detention with ransom," the police chief added.
A shotgun with a defaced serial number, a caliber .38 revolver with a tampered serial number, ammunition and an identification card with a different name were confiscated from the suspect.
Abu Mursan, who Casimiro said was being used as a courier between Zamboanga and the nearby island province of Basilan – a known Abu Sayyaf stronghold, was taken to a police office for proper documentation, detention and further questioning.
He is also suspected of involvement in the kidnapping of 15 workers from a plantation in Basilan’s Lantawan municipality in 2001, as well as a siege on Lamitan city when medical personnel were taken hostage that same year. In subsequent raids following the siege, the Abu Sayyaf took dozens of people hostage - while the majority escaped or were freed, around 16 were beheaded.
The arrest Thursday, the second in which an Abu Sayyaf member was captured while working as a security guard in recent months, came amid ongoing operations against the group following an ambush that killed six soldiers earlier this month.
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Governor Mujiv Hataman has called for an all-out offensive against militants in Basilan.
Since 1991, the Abu Sayyaf has carried out bombings, kidnappings, assassinations and extortions in a self-determined fight for an independent Islamic province in the Philippines. It is notorious for beheading victims after ransoms have failed to be paid.
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