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Thursday, July 05, 2007
Central Mindanao alert up as 'bomber' falls
GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- The security alert level has been raised all throughout Central Mindanao, following the arrest of a foreign-trained explosive expert tagged as one of the principal suspects in the 2004 deadly bomb attack on the public market here.
Tight security was also recommended for the city jail in Lanton, Apopong village to prevent any attempt of a terror group to rescue comrades.
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Police are also bracing for retaliatory attacks by terrorists to avenge the capture of Jabiri Abdul.
Intelligence operatives of the Central Mindanao police nabbed Abdul, alias Beds, a resident of SK Pendatun town in Maguindanao, last Monday.
Alfredo Toroctocon, Central Mindanao intelligence division chief, said Abdul, who is also using the aliases Jabide Abdul, Jabidi Kusain, and Jabiri Kusain, has been under surveillance for about two years.
Last week, an informant tipped police off about the exact location of the suspect's hideout in Narra, New Pasi, Tacurong City.
Armed with an arrest warrant issued by the Regional Trial Court Branch 22 in General Santos, police operatives led by Eduardo Bangeles, Central Mindanao deputy intelligence chief, swarmed the suspect's safe house at past 7 a.m., taking Abdul by surprise.
"Our policemen were already deployed in the area early Monday morning. When he went out of his house, our men quickly jumped on him," Bangeles said.
Toroctocon said Abdul is a Pakistan-trained electronic bomb expert.
The police intelligence chief led the filing of multiple murder and multiple frustrated murder charges against Abdul and several other suspects shortly after the bombing in December 2004 when he was then the chief of the Regional Intelligence Office in Southwestern Mindanao.
He claimed the facial features of Abdul matched the artist's sketch from descriptions given by witnesses in the public market bombing.
He further said that two witnesses who knew the suspect executed affidavits on Tuesday attesting that the person arrested is Jabiri Abdul.
Abdul was turned over by the police on Tuesday to Regional Trial Court Branch 22 Judge Antonio Lubao, who is hearing the case filed against the suspected bomber. Judge Lubao issued a commitment order against the suspect right after the presentation.
His arrest brings to two the number of nabbed suspects in the December 2004 public market blast.
In June 2005, police operatives of the Central Mindanao Police arrested Norodin Mangelen, also a foreign-trained bomb expert, tagged as among those who planned the attack on the public market.
Mangelen and Abdul are now in one jail.
Police are still looking for several other suspects who remain at large.
One of the witnesses who pinned down the suspects was their former colleague Jing Abas, who is now under the witness protection program of the Department of Justice.
Fifteen persons were killed while more than 60 others were injured when a powerful bomb went off in one of the stalls in the meat section of the General Santos City public market on December 12, 2004. (Sun.Star General Santos)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Dumaguete. (July 5, 2007 issue)
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