COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Two alleged bomb-makers of the Dawlah Islamiya terror group, long wanted for multiple murder, were arrested Wednesday in Polomolok, South Cotabato.
Jerry Pandian, 44, and Yeb Salila, 18, reportedly belong to the Khatiba group in the Dawlah Islamiya, tagged in deadly bombings in central Mindanao in recent years.
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The duo was nabbed before dawn Wednesday in Purok 2 in Barangay Glamang in Polomolok, South Cotabato by combined personnel of units under the Army's 6th Infantry Division and the Police Regional Office-12.
Army and police intelligence officials confirmed Thursday that Pandian and Salila are experts in fabrication of improvised explosive devices using components easy to obtain, such as ammonium nitrate and potassium chlorate, which can be used as blasting powders for home-made bombs.
They did not resist arrest when members of the Polomolok Municipal Police Station, agents from the South Cotabato Provincial Police and PRO-12 and soldiers arrived at their hideout in Barangay Glamang and showed them an arrest warrant for murder cases against them.
The warrant for their arrest was issued by the Regional Trial Court Branch 13 in Polomolok, South Cotabato.