Suspect in 2015 Mamasapano clash arrested in Cotabato City

Tamano Esmail Sabpa was arrested on Saturday, April 6, 2019, for direct assault with murder in connection with the 2015 Mamasapano clash between Moro fighters and commandos of the Special Action Force. (Photo from PNP CIDG)

MANILA, Philippines — Authorities arrested on Saturday a suspect in the killing of commandos of the elite Special Action Force (SAF) during the 2015 Mamasapano clash in Maguindanao.

Tamano Esmail Sabpa, also known as Tamano Sabpa Esmael, was arrested at 2:00 p.m. at the parking area of a hospital in Cotabato City, according to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

The arrest was a joint operation by members of the CIDG in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and Cotabato City police officers.

The arrest warrant for direct assault with murder was issued on Jan. 25, 2017, by Alandrex Betoya, presiding judge of Branch 15 of the Regional Trial Court in Kabacan, Cotabato.

Authorities confiscated the suspect’s identification card indicating his membership in the Moro Islamic Libertation Front (MILF).

On Jan. 25, 2015, the PNP-SAF commandos went to Mamasapano in Maguindanao to capture Malaysian terrorists Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, and Amin Baco, alias Jihad, and their Filipino accomplice, Basit Usman.

The commandos killed Marwan, but Baco and Usman escaped.

As SAF troops withdrew from the town, they ran into some members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Bangsamoro Freedom Fighters.

The battle lasted for 12 hours and left 44 SAF troopers, 17 MILF rebels, and five civilians dead. /atm

READ: WHAT WENT BEFORE: Mamasapano clash