MANILA, Philippines—An anti-terror unit has arrested two suspected members of the Abu Sayyaf who were allegedly planning to set off bombs in Metro Manila during the Christmas season, the government said on Saturday.

Justice Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor said police and soldiers from the National Counter-Terrorism Action Group arrested Sala Kasan Bairulla, 42, and his son, Albasher Bairulla, 20, during a pre-dawn raid Friday on their rented room in Maharlika Village, Taguig city.

Blancaflor, who is also spokesperson for the Anti-Terrorism Council, said in a statement that the raiders recovered a homemade bomb, a pistol, ammunition and a grenade from the two alleged members of the Islamic extremist group linked to al-Qaeda. He did not provide details on the bombing targets.

Supt. Arwin Pagkalinawan, intelligence chief of the Southern Police District (SPD), said the two were undergoing interrogation.

Blancaflor said the men will be charged with illegal possession of explosives and weapons.

On Tuesday, government forces arrested another suspected Abu Sayyaf militant for his alleged involvement in a plot to bomb the airport in Jolo.

The Abu Sayyaf is on the United States list of terrorist groups.

Pagkalinawan said the arrests were made after two months of surveillance and intelligence-gathering operations. Father and son were said to have arrived in Manila from Cotabato City in September.

According to Pagkalinawan, the bomb—similar to the one used in the deadly Rizal Day bombing in 2002—was to be detonated using a mobile phone.

“The bomb we seized from them was ready to be used anytime. If detonated, it could have caused damage within a radius of 200 meters,” Pagkalinawan told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Pagkalinawan described Bairulla and his son as “fundamentalist Islamists” and Abu Sayyaf bombers who were on a mission to bomb several targets in Metro Manila.

He said the suspects also belonged to the Special Operations Group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The MILF denies any links to the Abu Sayyaf

But Pagkalinawan said “MILF rebels are known to join Abu Sayyaf during special operations. Some Abu Sayyaf members also join the MILF if they need to.”

“They have an interchangeable alliance,” he said. Marlon Ramos, AP