Two more Sayyaf bombers identified

The Philippine National Police (PNP) identified two more Abu Sayyaf members tasked to carry out bombing attacks in Metro Manila and other key cities in the country during the Holy Week.

This brings to nine the number of Abu Sayyaf members being hunted by the government personnel — particularly the PNP and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) — seeking to thwart the reported plots.

Chief Superintendent Ismael Rafanan of the PNP Intelligence Group said Ibnu Hassan and Abu Ubayda were trained to rig car bombs and usually carry high-powered firearms.

"We consider these two as new personalities in the absence of their profile in the police database. But this does not mean they are new recruits," Rafanan said.

He noted that Hassan and Ubayda underwent a three-month training with a certain Zacky — supposedly a well-known Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) cell leader — at Lanao del Sur’s Mt. Cararao, a three-day walk from the provincial capital of Marawi City.

Sources said Hassan and Ubayda are companions of seven Abu Sayyaf members identified by PNP chief Director General Arturo Lomibao last Friday as among those planning terror attacks in Metro Manila this Holy Week.

Lomibao said these seven Abu Sayyaf members are Hilarion del Rosario Santos Jr., alias Ahmed Santos, leader of the Rajah Solaiman Revolutionary Movement; Amilhamsa Ajijul, alias Alex Alvarez; Abu Haisham, Abu Omar, Abu Tarik, Abu Zaid and Abu Yasin.

Unlike the seven suspects, police have yet to gather vital information on Hassan and Ubayda.

"The description and other information about Hassan and Ubayda were provided to us by Abu Sayyaf members who are presently under police custody. Such information was confirmed... by the AFP and other assets in the field," Rafanan said.

Lomibao said Santos has a pending arrest warrant for a bombing in Pangasinan, while Ajijul is a suspect in the October 2002 bombing in Zamboanga City.

Haisham recently trained at the reported JI training camp at Mt. Cararao, while Tarik and Omar are JI-trained explosives experts.

Zaid works under Tarik, while Yasin, an Indonesian, is a JI member.

"We are trying to solicit as much cooperation from the public (as we can) because the threat is very serious," Lomibao said as he advised the public to report suspicious-looking persons in their neighborhood to the nearest police station or text 117 or 2920.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) reportedly has a stronghold in Mt. Cararao, and sources said it is a training ground for JI recruits. The stronghold is directly under the supervision of Abu Usam, deputy of Quod Amir, also known as Daud.

Amir replaced terrorist leader Mustakim, who was arrested in Indonesia last year for his link to the 2002 Bali bombings that killed hundreds of people, mostly tourists.

"We hope we thwarted and prevented terror attacks after we made public the information against these Abu Sayyaf members," Rafanan said.

The PNP is also verifying reports that an Abu Sayyaf member arrested last Sunday in Sarangani province for a series of bombings in General Santos City is also part of the plot to bomb key areas in Metro Manila and other cities during the Holy Week.

Lomibao said Andy Budiang, alias Commander Pud, is being interrogated by intelligence officers of the Sarangani police to get information that "could lead us to his companions."

Another report reaching the PNP headquarters at Camp Crame in Quezon City showed Budiang was also a deputy commander of the MILF’s 107th base command at Barangay Sapu Masla in Malapatan town.

Reports have suggested that the Abu Sayyaf has formed an "unholy alliance" with the MILF.

Lomibao said police have yet to verify whether Budiang was involved in the bombing of a public market in General Santos City last December, which killed 14 people and wounded 70 others.

Budiang is wanted for the Valentine’s Day attacks that rocked General Santos City and killed a child and injured a number of people last February.

The Abu Sayyaf has owned up to the Valentine’s Day bombings that also struck Davao City and Makati City. The almost simultaneous bombings left a total of 13 people dead and over 100 people injured.

Police said Budiang has a pending warrant of arrest for multiple murder and frustrated murder charges stemming from previous bomb attacks in General Santos.