ZAMBOANGA City– Combined police and military operatives arrested a suspected member of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and seized bomb-making components in a raid at an ASG safe house in this city. Insp. Dahlan Samuddin, Police Regional Office-9 (PRO-9) information officer, identified the arrested ASG member as Salam Arula, 41, a native of Lampinigan Island, Isabela City, Basilan province. Samuddin said Arula was arrested around 11:30 a.m. Saturday at an ASG safe house in Sitio Gapuh, Barangay Talabaan, 18.45 kilometers east of city hall.
Samuddin said Arula was arrested when the joint police and military operatives raided the safe house of a known ASG member identified only as a certain “Alkobar.” He said Alkobar, who was the primary target of the raid, remain at large since the latter was not around when the lawmen swooped down on his safe house. He said Alkobar has a standing warrant of arrest for kidnapping and serious illegal detention as the latter was involved in 2001 kidnapping of workers at the Golden Harvest Plantation in Barangay Tairan, Lantawan, Basilan province.
He said the raiding team has also recovered bomb-making components in the vicinity of Alkobar’s safe house. Recovered were the following: three kilograms assorted enhance fragments; plastic gallon (color white serves as fragment container); one-half kilogram ammonium nitrate fuel oil (ANFO); three pieces blasting caps; two match sticks; three pieces of 30-inch commercial time fused; four sets of slide switch; 26 inches telephone wire; 56 inches ground electrical wire; 118 inches electrical wire; brown cartoon container, and, one empty liquefied petroleum gas tank. Samuddin said Arula has been detained and now undergoing further investigation. pna
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