Jolo cathedral suicide bombers’ daughter rescued

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — The minor daughter of an Indonesian couple who blew themselves up at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel cathedral in Jolo in 2019 was rescued following an encounter with government troopers in Patikul, Sulu before midnight on Wednesday.

Maj. Gen. William Gonzales, Joint Task Force Sulu and 11th Infantry Division commander, said the minor is believed to be around 13 years old.

“She is married to a full-fledged Abu Sayyaf. Her older brother is an armed member of the Dawlah Islamiya group and as per intel reports she is being groomed as a suicide bomber,” Gonzales said.

He said law enforcers were fired at while serving an arrest warrant for the girl’s husband at their residence in Barangay Bangkal.

The suspect and another Abu Sayyaf bandit escaped while an alias Sawi, a follower of sub-leader Amah Patit, was killed in the clash.

Bomb materials were recovered from the house of the suspects.

Twenty people were killed and more than 100 others were injured in the suicide bombing carried out by the parents of the minor.

Her sister was apprehended during a raid in Jolo in October last year.

Meanwhile, Gonzales said they are tracking down two other foreign terrorists who have been monitored in the country since 2019.

He was referring to the girl’s elder brother and an Egyptian identified only as Abdurahman, who are also minors.