MANILA: A 22-year-old Indonesian who went to the Philippines to fight alongside the Daesh-backed Maute group in Marawi City was arrested on Wednesday.
John Guyguyon, Lanao del Sur provincial police chief, identified the militant as Mohammed Ilham Syaputra from Sumatra, Indonesia. He had a bullet wound to the side of his body.
Guyguyon said Syaputra claimed he was invited by Isnilon Hapilon, Daesh’s designated emir in the Philippines.
Syaputra was involved in a bombing in Indonesia’s capital in January 2016, Guyguyon added.
Syaputra was arrested in the village of Loksa Datu. Guyguyon said his clothes were drenched at the time, an indication that he had swum across a lake to escape the conflict zone.
Guyguyon said the suspect claimed he arrived in the Philippines in November 2016. He also admitted taking part in a clash with Philippine government forces in Piagapo, Lanao del Sur, in April, during which three Indonesians and a Malaysian were among 37 militants killed.
Syaputra revealed that prior to the Marawi siege, there were plans by Hapilon’s group to bomb military camps in Basilan, Sulu and Tawi Tawi.
Guyguyon said a gun, a grenade, money of various denominations, jewelry, a mobile phone, and a passport allegedly owned by a fellow Indonesian militant, were seized from Syahputra.
His arrest is a big blow to Maute because of the information that authorities can extract from him, particularly the location of remaining fighters in Marawi, Guyguyon added.
“We’re capitalizing on this to completely neutralize the enemy, then we’ll make Marawi City really safe for people who are coming back, especially those displaced by the fighting,” he said.
Armed Force of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Maj. Gen. Restituto Padilla told Arab News: “This is one less terrorist roaming in our midst who may inflict harm on innocents.” Syahputra had been reported killed in Marawi in May.
Joint Task Force Ranao Deputy Commander Col. Romeo S. Brawner, Jr. assured residents that the military will enhance clearing operations so returnees will be safe.
Militant involved in Jakarta bombing arrested in Marawi
Militant involved in Jakarta bombing arrested in Marawi
Kazakhstan urges US and Europe to help secure oil transport after tanker attacks in Black Sea
- Kazakhstan’s foreign ministry said three tankers were hit en route to the marine terminal of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium
- Russian defense ministry said Matilda tanker came under attack by two Ukrainian strike drones
MOSCOW: Kazakhstan on Wednesday urged the US and Europe to help secure the transport of oil following drone attacks on tankers heading to a Black Sea terminal on the Russian coast which handles one percent of global supply.
Unidentified drones struck at least two oil tankers in the Black Sea on Tuesday, including one chartered by US oil major Chevron, as they sailed toward a terminal on the Russian coast to load oil from Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan’s foreign ministry said in a statement that three tankers were hit en route to the marine terminal of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) in the Black Sea. On November 29, drones also attacked CPC’s exporting equipment, resulting in a fall in oil exports via the outlet.
“The increasing frequency of such incidents highlights the growing risks to the functioning of international energy infrastructure,” the ministry said in a statement.
“We therefore call upon our partners to engage in close cooperation to develop joint measures aimed at preventing similar incidents in the future,” it added.
Russian defense ministry said on Wednesday that the Matilda tanker, sailing under the Maltese flag, came under attack by two Ukrainian strike drones at a distance of about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the city of Anapa in Russia’s Krasnodar region.
Ukraine did not comment on the incident.
Shareholders in CPC’s 1,500-km (930-mile) pipeline include Kazakhstan’s state-owned oil company KazMunayGas, Russia’s Lukoil and units of US oil giants Chevron and ExxonMobil.
Russian terminals on the Black Sea handle more than 2 percent of global crude. Its waters, which are shared by Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania and Turkiye, as well as Russia and Ukraine, are also crucial for the shipment of grain.
CPC alone accounts for around 80 percent of oil exports from Kazakhstan.
