Wife of ASG subleader, 3 other ‘bomb makers’ arrested

ZAMBOANGA CITY — The wife of a ranking leader of the Abu Sayyaf and three other terror suspects were arrested early on Wednesday and flown immediately to Manila where they were charged with illegal possession of explosives at the Department of Justice.

The four suspects are “high value targets” and deeply involved in the Abu Sayyaf’s bombing activities and other terror operations, according to Col. Tom Tuzon, chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Western Mindanao.

Police said they confiscated bomb-making materials from the house in Barangay Talabaan of Jainab Ibrahim, 29, the subject of a search warrant issued on April 15 by Executive Judge Vigilio Macaraig of the Metro Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 37.

Under Sawadjaan

Ibrahim is the wife of Abu Dalha, a subleader of the Abu Sayyaf unit under Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan in Sulu province, according to the CIDG.

Sawadjaan is the suspected mastermind of the Jan. 26 bombing of the Catholic cathedral in Jolo, Sulu.

Also arrested were Ibrahim’s three companions, Khadeeja Tawasil Jainal, 24; Fatma Musa Narimen, 45; and Abdurrafie Jalas Danial, 28.

“The suspects are all categorized as high value targets,” Tuzon said.

Brig. Gen. Emmanuel Licup, director of the Police Regional Office-9, earlier said the women were wives of Abu Sayyaf leaders and in charge of the terror group’s finances.

Financing, recruitment

“They … are being utilized for [Abu Sayyaf’s] financial transactions in [Zamboanga City], procurement and transportation of firearms and explosives as well as the … recruitment of new members and travel [of members] abroad to be trained as foreign fighters,” Licup said.

Recovered from Ibrahim’s house were two hand grenades, 10 9-volt batteries, a bag filled with ammonium nitrate, a timer, wires with alligator clips, concrete nails and two blasting caps.  —With a report from Dona Z. Pazzibugan