ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 11 Sept) – Philippine authorities arrested four Filipino terrorists in separate operations in Mindanao island, south of Manila, officials said Tuesday.
Three of those arrested were behind a bomb attack in Zamboanga City last month that injured 16 people.
The men, Marjuni Amala, Aristalon Isniril and Ronely Ahman, were arrested on Tuesday and admitted planting the bomb under a concrete bench at a public square called Plaza Pershing in downtown Zamboanga on August 21.
The three men said they were recruited by a man named Omar Amping to bomb a police SWAT van, but had backed out because of tight security and left the explosive under the bench where it was detonated.
The trio, paraded by policemen in Zamboanga City, said they were paid one thousand pesos to carry out the bombing. Police said it is still investigating the men whether they are members of the Abu Sayyaf group tied to al-Qaeda and Jemaah islamiya.
zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat also offered P200,000 bounties for the capture of Amping.
"We ask police authorities to include Omar Amping in the most wanted list and we will be giving a P200,000 rewards for anybody who could give information leading to the arrest of Amping," Lobregat told reporters.
It was unknown whether the man was the same Omar Amping, who is wanted by authorities for the string of killings in Zamboanga City.
Security forces also arrested another terror man and seized from him two homemade bombs in General Santos City.
The man, police said, was planning to bomb the KCC Mall on Tuesday to coincide with the commemoration of the September 11, 2001 al-Qaeda attacks in the United States. Police suspected the man, Maipasagi Gani, has ties with Jemaah Islamiya and the Abu Sayyaf.
Last week, authorities also arrested five suspected Abu Sayyaf militants in Palawan island. (Mindanao Examiner)
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