Abu Sayyaf member arrested over 2001 Lamitan siege

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines -- An Abu Sayyaf member implicated in the Lamitan siege in 2011 was arrested in a law enforcement operation in a village near the west coast border of this city.

Chief Inspector Edilberto Alvarez, City Police Office intelligence branch chief, identified the arrested suspect as Benzar Jumrani alias Abu Pati.

His arrest was only disclosed after anoperation that also led the arrest of suspected Abu Sayyaf member Faizal Jaafar, who is facing 87 counts of kidnappings, in a village on Thursday.

Jumrani was arrested by military and police intelligence units working with local police last Monday afternoon in the vicinity of sitio Lingayon, Barangay Limpapa.

Jumrani is wanted for his alleged participation in the 2001 Lamitan siege in Lamitan City, Basilan at the height of the Dos Palmas kidnapping incident under the late Abu Sayyaf leader Aldam Tilao, alias Abu Sabaya.

Police said Jumrani is also one of the fugitives from the jailbreak at Basilan Provincial Jail in Barangay Sumagdang, Isabela City in December 2009.

The police and military forces also thwarted a plot by Abu Sayyaf militants to snatch a foreign national in this city.