Troops capture ISIS sympathizer in Sarangani

February 24, 2018

GENERAL SANTOS CITY — Security forces captured Friday in Maasim town in Sarangani province a an alleged symphatizer of an armed group linked to Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Senior Inspector Nemesio Calipho, Maasim town police commander, said Saturday Bebor Abdullah did not resist arrest when his hideout was raided by policemen in the village of Kanalo.

Calipho said Abdullah was a cohort of Mohammad Jaafar Sabewang Maguid, known as “Tokboy” of the Ansar Al-Khilafah, a local terror group in Mindanao that pledged allegiance with Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, who was killed on January 2017 in Maasim.

A handgun and ammunition were recovered from the suspect who was providing food to Maguid while hiding in the mountains of Maasim.

“We have information from a concerned civilians identifying him as an ISIS supporter,” Calipho said, adding the suspect is in violation of the  Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act..

The Ansar Al-Khilafah claims to have affiliates worldwide, including the Philippines which calls itself Ansar Al-Khilafah Philippines (AKP).

Members of the group’s branch in Mindanao, Khalifa Islamiyah Mindanao, are believed to have received bomb-making training from Indonesian and Malaysian terrorists, like Marwan.

The group under Maguid was blamed for the 2015 grenade attack in Maasim that killed a police officer and wounded dozens of civilians. DMS