A FORMER town official, who carries a P300,000 reward for his arrest for his involvement with the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf, was arrested by police and military forces.
Directorate for Integrated Police Operations (Dipo)-West Director Angel Sunglao said former Maluson town vice mayor Hamid Muksan was arrested around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in the village of Port Holland, Maluso municipality Basilan province.
Sunglao said Muksan was cornered at his hideout in Port Holland, Maluso.
Sunglao said Muksan was arrested on the strength of warrant of arrest issued by a Basilan court by Dipo-West personnel backed by military intelligence operatives.
He said the former town official has been identified as one of those involved in the infamous 1995 attack in Ipil town, Zamboanga Sibugay.
The attack resulted to the death of more than 50 people and the burning of the commercial center of Ipil municipality.
Sunglao said the former official was also tagged as involved in the kidnapping of a Taiwanese in 1996 in Jolo town, the capital of Sulu province.
Muksan was also tagged as one of those involved in the infamous 1997 Dos Palmas kidnapping and Lamitan City siege perpetrated by the Abu Sayyaf bandits, Sunglao said. (Bong Garcia)