ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Police and military forces on Saturday night raided an alleged safe house of the Abu Sayyaf Group in Barangay (village) Talabaan here, resulting in the arrest of a suspected bandit and the recovery of explosives.
Navy Commander Roy Vincent Trinidad, chief of staff of the Naval Forces Western Mindanao, identified the suspect as Salam Naim Arula.
The recovered bomb components consisted of a liquified petroleum gas tank, ammonium nitrate, nails and other shrapnel, M14 ammunition, improvised blasting caps, electric wire and an improvised bomb.
The combined police intelligence forces and members of the Joint Task Group Zamboanga conducted the raid on a house in Barangay Talabaan to arrest Abs Indanan alias Alkobar, an alleged member of the Abu Sayyaf based in Al Barka town in Basilan.
Indanan was not in the house during the raid. Authorities instead arrested Arula.