(AHN) - Philippine security forces arrested a suspected bomb expert and member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front Thursday while his aide was killed in a pre-dawn raid on their hideout east of the capital, Manila. Senior Superintendent Asher Dolina, chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group National Capital Region, said a team of Philippine National Police and Philippine Marines swooped down on the base of militants in Tanay, Rizal, triggering a firefight that lasted for several hours. Dolina said Sandali Utto was captured at Block 4, Lot A, Purok 6, Lupang Arenda, Barangay (village) Sta. Ana while Mohammad Utto died after a firefight with police around 4:30 a.m. at the riverside along Purok 8 of the same village.The two alleged guns-for-hire were being monitored by authorities, said Dolina. Marine spokesman Ariel Caculitan added that several firearms and explosives were seized in the operation. He said the people killed and arrested had established linkages with the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group and with the regional Southeast Asian regional terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah after peace talks started between the MILF leaders and Philippine government. "These are former members of the MILF who turned criminal elements," he said.
Dolina said the operatives, including the PNP Maritime group and the Marines, were supposed to serve the arrest warrant on Mohammad Utto when he allegedly fired and had even intended to throw a grenade at them. Sophia Dalana, Mohammad Utto's wife, and an alleged MILF member, Bagiuo de Embada, were injured in the encounter. They were brought to the Pasig General Hospital, said Dolina.
In a separate operation, police swooped down on Sandali Utto's residence, where several submachine guns, magazines, live ammunition, and explosive devices were seized, said Dolina. Utto is under the custody of the CIDG-NCR, Dolina said. Dolina said Utto's group was engaged in criminal activities and was also known to "coddle" members of Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah, outlawed militant groups on the U.S. government's terrorist watchlist. "We suspect they were planning attacks in the metro [area]," Dolina told reporters.
However, MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu denied Utto was a member, stressing that the rebel leadership has not sanctioned any operations in Manila in keeping with peace talks. The 12,000-strong MILF has been waging a separatist rebellion on southern Mindanao Island since 1978. But it signed a truce with Manila in 2003 and has denounced links to Al Qaeda-linked JI and Abu Sayyaf to pave the way for peace talks.