GOVERNMENT security forces arrested Sunday, May 2, 2021, two suppliers of bomb-making components of the Abu Sayyaf bandits in the province of Sulu, the military reported.

Arrested were Akkang Suraili Omaron and Mardan Dammang Jamasali, according to Major General William Gonzales, commander of the 11th Infantry Division.

Gonzales said the two suspects were arrested in a buy-bust operation around 2:20 p.m. Sunday in San Raymundo village, Jolo, the capital town of Sulu, after a concerned citizen tipped off the personnel of the 15th Civil-Military Operations (15CMO) Battalion, which was conducting Community Support Program in the area.

Gonzales said seized from the two suspects were the marked money, ammunition of caliber .45 pistol and improvised explosive device components to include several blasting caps, assorted sizes of time fuse cord, about a kilogram of suspected ammonium nitrate, 81-millimeter mortal shell, nails, marbles, aluminum pipes and wire switches.

Lieutenant Colonel Nelicar Corsino, 15CMO battalion commander, said Omaron and Jamsali were the suppliers of bomb-making components used during the August 24, 2020 Jolo twin blast along Serrantes Street, Jolo, Sulu.

The arrest of the two suppliers is a significant development in the campaign against terror in the province of Sulu, as the components they trade are devastating if assembled as a bomb, Gonzales said.

The police are conducting an investigation to determine the source of the bomb-making components, while charges will be filed against the two arrested suspects. (SunStar Zamboanga)