Police Captured Suspected Bomber In Southern Philippines

Policemen escort suspected bomber, Taya Kulat, a local supporter of the Indonesian terror group, Jemaah Islamiya, in Sultan Kudarat province in southern Philippines. Filipino authorities blame the Jemaah Islamiya for the bomb attack Tuesday at a packed billiard hall in Tacurong City. Policemen are deployed in Tacurong Thursday, 10 May 2007. (Mindanao Examiner Photo Service/Mark Navales)

SULTAN KUDARAT (Mindanao Examiner / 10 May) – Philippine police captured one of four alleged bomber tagged as behind the deadly attack in Tacurong City in the southern province of Sultan Kudarat, officials said Thursday.

Provincial police chief, Superintendent Teng Tocao said the suspect, Taya Kulat, was captured after a running gun battle at a village in Kalawag town.

“He is one of those involved in the attack and we are still tracking down the others,” Tocao told the regional newspaper, the Mindanao Examiner.

Police filed criminal charges against the man, said to be a local supporter of the Indonesian terror group, Jemaah Islamiya. “We are investigating his link to the terrorist group,” Tocao said, adding, the man was captured on Wednesday.

He said policemen seized hand guns from Kulat, who was tracked down with information provided by civilians.

The explosion on Tuesday at a packed billiard hall in Tacurong killed and injured about three dozen people, according to a regional army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Julieto Ando.

Army Major General Raymundo Ferrer, commander of the 6th Infantry Division, blamed the Jemaah Islamiya for the blast.

He said security forces were hunting down a senior Jemaah Islamiya bomber, Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan, believed hiding in central Mindanao since 2003.

Zulkifli, a Malaysian citizen, also heads the Kumpulun Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM) terrorist organization, according to the U.S. Department of State.

Washington included Zulkifli to its most-wanted list and offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest. He was believed to be involved in multiple deadly bomb attacks in the Philippines and is said to be working with the local terrorist group, Abu Sayyaf.

His younger brother, Taufik bin Abdul Halim, was also implicated in the 2001 Jakarta Atrium Mall bombing, and currently is in detention in Indonesia.

Aside from Zulkifli, Philippine authorities, aided by U.S. forces, are also tracking down two other Jemaah Islamiya bombers, Dulmatin and Umar Patek, on Jolo island in the Sulu Archipelago off Mindanao region. (Mark Navales and Juan Magtanggol)