AUTHORITIES arrested on Monday, June 21, 2021, the alleged mastermind behind the bus explosion and burning incident in North Cotabato, the military said on Tuesday, June 22, 2021.

Brigadier General Roberto Capulong, commander of 602nd Infantry Brigade, said Ali Akbar was arrested in a joint law enforcement operation in Barangay East Patadon, Kidapawan City.

Akbar has a standing arrest warrant issued by Branch 23, Regional Trial Court for double murder and multiple frustrated murder.

Capulong said Akbar was identified as the brains behind the Yellow Bus Line (YBL) bus bombing in Tulunan, North Cotabato on January 27, 2021, and the burning of another YBL bus in M’Lang, North Cotabato on June 3, 2021. These incidents killed four people.

“Akbar is a bomb and improvised explosive device (IED) expert and an extortionist belonging to the Dawlah Islamiya-Hassan Group,” Capulong said. (Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo / SunStar Philippines)