A SUSPECTED bomber and a relative of the Jema’ah Islamiyah (JI)-trained top bomb maker in the country was arrested on Tuesday by security forces in Central Mindanao.
Chief Supt. Noel de los Reyes, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao police commander, identified the suspect as Abi Salman alias Sauman Usman and Nanam.
Salman was arrested on Tuesday in Barangay Tuka, Mamasapano, Maguindanao, by a joint team from the National Police Intelligence Group, the police Anti-Kidnapping Group, the Army’s 45th Infantry Battalion and the Maguindanao police command.
The operation was also supported by a unit under the office of the National Police chief, Director General Alan LM Purisima, and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC).
The arrest of Salman was made through the strength of a warrant of arrest that was issued by Judge Rogelio Narisma of Branch 23 of the Regional Trial Court in Kidapawan City for multiple murder, multiple frustrated murder and attempted murder.
During the operation, Salman was shot in the right leg after he grabbed the M-16 rifle of a member of the arresting team.
De los Reyes said the suspect is a bigtime bomber, having been involved in a number of bombings that rocked different areas of Central Mindanao in the past. He said Salman, who carried P1.3 million for his arrest, is a nephew of JI-trained bomber Basit Usman, who is the subject of a continuing government operations in Central Mindanao.
Salman was supposed to have been taken to Manila on Wednesday to undergo medical treatment for the wound that he sustained during his arrest.
Rene Acosta