Army arrest militant bomber in N. Cotabato

NORTH COTABATO --- Authorities have foiled an attempt to bomb selected targets in central Mindanao with the arrest on Monday of a militant Moro commander plotting to perpetrate the attacks.Muslimin Ladtugan, most known as Commander Mus in the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, is now in the joint custody of the police and the military, according to local officials.He was cornered at his hideout in Barangay Nabalawag in Midsayap, North Cotabato at past 8and00 a.m. Monday by personnel of the Army’s 34thInfantry Battalion and the Philippine National Police.The raiding team recovered from him materials for improvised explosive devices, an M14 rifle, an M16 rifle, a rocket-propelled grenade and two .45 caliber pistols.Lt. Col. Gerry Besana of the Army’s 6thCivil-Military Operations Battalion said on Monday that it was vigilant residents in Midsayap who pinpointed to the 34thIB the exact location of Ladtugan’s hideout resulting in his prompt arrest.Police and Army intelligence sources told reporters the hunt for Ladtugan was launched following reports from civilian informants purporting that his group is planning to perpetrate bombings to avenge the deaths of 27 militants in encounters with guerillas of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.The MILF has been fighting since August 2 a third faction in the BIFF, led by bomb-maker Esmael Abdulmalik, which uses the flag of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria as its revolutionary banner.Ladtugan is identified with the group of Abdulmalik, a former henchman of slain Malaysian terrorist Zulkfli bin Hir, also known as Marwan.The MILF’s hunt for Abdulmalik and his men is being supported by the Army’s 6thInfantry Division.Pursuing MILF guerillas have killed 27 militants in recurring encounters that started August 2.The MILF already lost more than a dozen members in the ensuing skirmishes.The BIFF is feared for its notoriety in venting ire on civilian targets to retaliate for losses in encounters with government forces.Key members of the municipal peace and order councils in towns in the second district of Maguindanao, scenes of bloody clashes between the group of Abdulmalik and pursuing MILF guerillas, said Ladtugan and his men were supposed to set off IEDs along highways and public places.The sources hinted that the objective of Ladtugan is to create an impression that their capability to sow terror has not been marginalized despite the deaths of 27 companions in the past six weeks.The MILF launched its campaign against Abdulmalik and his men in keeping with its 1997 interim truce with Malacañang that obliges both sides to cooperate in maintaining law and order in conflict-flashpoint areas in southern provinces.Besana, spokesman of the anti-terror Task Force Central that helps local government units prevent the spread of violent religious extremists in central Mindanao, said the Army is thankful to patriotic residents who helped in the operation that led to the arrest of Ladtugan.