Sayyaf bomber captured in Sulu

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Security forces captured a suspected Abu Sayyaf bomber who is also the wife of a notorious terror leader and bomb expert Mundi Sawadaan in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, officials said Monday.

Officials said the woman, Nursitta Malud alias Kirsita Ismael, was captured over the weekend after soldiers and policemen swooped down on her house in the village of Tulay in the capital town of Jolo.

The 34-year old woman is the second wife of Abu Sayyaf terror leader Mundi Sawadjaan, said Brig. Gen. Ignatius Patrimonio, commander of the 11^th Infantry Division and the Joint Task Force Sulu.

He said troops recovered an 81mm mortar bomb, detonation cord, one detonator, a blasting cap, electric wire, and a nine volt battery, among others.

The arrest of the woman came barely a week after soldiers diffused an improvised explosive planted on a roadside in Patikul town’s Anuling village following a tip off from civilians.

“Bombing has no place in Sulu. We need to zero in on the leadership of the local terrorist group and its members as soon as possible to prevent any atrocities to happen. We cannot allow any bombing attack, because it will only hamper the furtherance of the relative peace Sulu has today,” Patrimonio said.

“As the group of Mundi Sawadjaan dwindled, they were becoming desperate at the same time reckless. Now that all his companions were arrested one after another, his capability to conduct a possible attack has weakened. The continuous effort of our troops and other law enforcement agencies after the recovery of IED last week has indeed save innocent lives as we pre-empted possible bombing attack,” he added.

Patrimonio called on civilians to stay vigilant as security forces continue the hunt against Abu Sayyaf terrorists. “I am asking our local community to be more vigilant and let’s sustain our cooperation for us to achieve our long aspiration for just and lasting peace here in Sulu,” he said.

He said there had been no bombing since August 2020 after the task force pre-empted previous bombing attempts in the province.

“To recall, the last twin bombings attack was on 24 August 2020 dubbed as twin bombing. Since then, the JTFS had pre-empted bombing attempts and will continue to do so even today. We will not stop until we zero-in the enemy and their leadership. We will continue to do our mandate and strengthen our capabilities to perform our duties to protect our fellow Filipino here in the province of Sulu,” he said, referring to the twin suicide bombings in the capital town of Jolo.

Two Indonesian female bombers carried out the daring attacks that left dozens of casualties, mostly civilians.

One of the bombers was an Indonesian widow of Abu Sayyaf suicide bomber Norman Lasuca, who blew himself up outside a military base and killed 8 people in Sulu’s Indanan town 2019. The other bomber was the wife of an Abu Sayyaf explosives expert Talha Jumsa, who was also slain in a clash with soldiers in Patikul town.

A parked motorcycle rigged with explosives was detonated near two military trucks and the second bomber detonated her explosives while soldiers and policemen were rushing to the scene to aid the victims. (Mindanao Examiner)