Preacher arrested over Basilan van blast

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines  —   Security forces arrested a Muslim preacher after he was tagged as a suspect in last Tuesday’s car bombing that left 11 people dead in Basilan.

Officials said Indalin Mallaning Jainul, 58, a resident of Sitio Tinambakan, Barangay Maganda, Lamitan City, was taken into custody by the police after he was arrested by Army Scout Rangers late Wednesday.

The Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) said Jainul was only invited for questioning following reports tagging him as among the suspects in the bombing.

Lamitan police director Chief Supt. Christopher Panapan said troops recovered a grenade from Jainul’s house during the arrest.

Relatives, however, denied Jainul was involved in the bombing.

Ruhaida Abdurajak said Jainul was in a mosque when the explosion occurred.

She claimed the grenade that was supposedly retrieved from Jainul’s house was planted to force him into admitting his involvement in the bombing.

“How can he perpetrate the crime when he knows some of the victims were our relatives. Our cousin was innocent, besides he is a religious man and a father of children who will soon be a nurse and a policeman,” Abdurajak said.

Police said Jainul would be facing multiple criminal charges for his involvement in the bombing.

Officials said there were reports that Jainul is helping the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan. He was rumored to have communication lines with some radical clerics in the Middle East and North Africa.

Linking the IS

Following the deadly blast that reignited terrorism fears in Mindanao, government forces have been put on alert, including in Metro Manila.

National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said there were no monitored terror threats in Metro Manila but precautionary measures are being implemented.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) gave assurance there is no cause for alarm as authorities are on top of the situation.

“We are doing our job, there is nothing to be alarmed about. The threat is not that high nationally, a heightened alert can be declared by regions. We are responding quite adequately as of now. (We are on) heightened alert not full alert, in the sense that we are on top of the situation,” PNP spokesman Senior Supt. Benigno Durana said.

Brig. Gen. Abraham Casis, commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)-Joint Task Force National Capital Region, said that while Metro Manila is generally peaceful, measures are being conducted to prevent possible spillover of terror attacks.

The blast came after President Duterte signed a new autonomy law last week with the biggest Muslim rebel group in the country.

The peace deal has been opposed by much smaller but violent extremist bands like the Abu Sayyaf and others that have aligned themselves with the Islamic State (IS).

Mindanao remains under martial law, which Duterte declared last year to deal with a five-month siege by IS-linked militants in Marawi city that left more than 1,200 mostly militants dead, displaced hundreds of thousands of villagers and sparked fears that the IS was gaining a foothold in Southeast Asia amid its battle defeats in Syria and Iraq.

Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said last Tuesday’s bombing indicated the IS was behind the attack.

The global community sent its sympathies to the Philippine government.

“France strongly condemns the terrorist attack which took place last July 31 in Basilan, and which resulted in the death of at least 10 persons, including several civilians,” the French embassy said in a statement on Wednesday.

“France sends its condolences to the families of the victims and expresses its sympathy to the injured, and stands alongside the local authorities and the Filipino people in the fight against terrorism,” its embassy said.

US Ambassador Sung Kim expressed condolences to the families of the victims.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of bombing in Basilan, and to their families,” Kim said in his Twitter account. 

“We join the PH government in condemning this terrorist act in the strongest terms and remain committed to working with Filipinos to further the causes of peace and prosperity,” he said. – With Jaime Laude, John Unson, Pia Lee-Brago, Jose Rodel Clapano, Delon Porcalla, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Non Alquitran