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Friday, November 15, 2002
Arrest of 'bomber' foils new threats: Arroyo
MANILA -- Authorities arrested a senior leader of the Abu Sayyaf who has admitted to masterminding deadly bomb blasts in Mindanao as well as planning more attacks on vital installations in the country, officials said Thursday.
With the arrest of Adbulmukim Edris, who claimed to being trained by Yemeni nationals possibly linked to the al-Qaeda terror network, President Arroyo said planned attacks on government installations, foreign embassies, and shopping malls in the capital were foiled.
Two others were arrested late Tuesday in Zamboanga City for allegedly making explosives, but the military would not link them to a series of bomb blasts in Mindanao in recent weeks or to Muslim rebels suspected of carrying out the attacks.
Edris, the alleged head of the explosive team and urban operations group of the Abu Sayyaf kidnapping gang, was presented by the military to Arroyo just before she left Manila for a provincial sortie.
Arroyo described Edris as "the number one bomber of the Abu Sayyaf group," adding that "we must make sure the rest of his kind are put behind bars."
A beaming Arroyo held up captured plans for a truck bomb that Edris had allegedly been working on.
Edris was arrested on Tuesday by a special military and police task force in Pasay City after months of surveillance.
A military statement said he admitted masterminding a series of bombings in Zamboanga, the latest being the October 17 blasts at two department stores which killed seven people and injured over 100.
Truck bombs
The military said he also admitted that "he (was) trained for one month together with two others in car bomb preparation and assembly... by two Yemeni nationals believed connected with al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiyah cells in Southeast Asia."
The statement did not give further details on the Yemenis.
It said Edris also admitted taking part in the kidnapping of three Americans and several Filipinos from a tourist resort in May 2001. Two of the Americans and numerous Filipinos were later killed by their captors but one was rescued by government troops last June.
Edris reportedly planned further attacks on the orders of Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani.
He also admitted during questioning that this entailed the use of truck bombs loaded with several drums of ammonium nitrate connected to a detonating cord that can be activated with the use of a cellular phone.
The military said Edris had a bounty of P1 million on his head.
Edris has a total of 12 outstanding warrants of arrest issued by Branch 2 of the Basilan Regional Trial Court for various crimes ranging from kidnapping, serious illegal detention, to multiple murder, as well as multiple frustrated murder.
Aside from his involvement in bomb attacks in Mindanao, Edris is also suspected of having a hand in the killing of a Marine trooper and his wife and a barangay captain in Lamitan and in the theft of several motorcycles.
Liquid chemicals
Meanwhile, two Muslim men, Abdul Mohamad and Bubong Ajibon, were arrested in Zamboanga late Tuesday.
Around 50 kilograms (110 pounds) of ammonium nitrate, a chemical for fertilizer but which can also be used to make explosives, was seized along with dozens of blasting caps and detonating cords.
The military would not provide further details on the two although sources said the suspects claimed they sold the bombs to fishermen for use in illegal dynamite fishing.
Two shipping containers filled with chemicals for use in making explosives at the Manila port area, police said Thursday.
The containers containing 20 bags of sodium nitrate and plastic containers of liquid chemicals that had been brought into the country in September 2001 by a Saudi Arabian company but got stuck in customs.
They were discovered late October in a sweep to clear the port of abandoned crates and containers, reports said.
Police sources said they were looking into the possibility that terror groups might be behind the attempt to bring in the chemicals. Sunnex/AFP |
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