Report: Captured commander of Kiram followers related to Sulu sultan

The captured "commander" of a group of followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III who was arrested early Saturday in Sabah may be related to the sultan, a Malaysian news site's report on Sunday indicated. A report on the New Straits Times said authorities identified the captured "military commander" as Datu Amirbahar Hushin Kiram, 50, "a member of the Kiram clan." He was captured along with wife Gina Taves Kiram, 47, at a swampy area in Kampung Sri Melor Bugaya, Semporna, after police acted on a tip about their whereabouts, the report said. Seized from the two were two laptop bags with three hand-phones, a Western Union card, a SIM card, a broadband device, and a memory card. Also found in their possession was a transparent file with documents "related to the Sulu Sultanate and signed by Sultan Islam Dalus Kiram II," RM3,000, one Brunei dollar, one Saudi Riyal and one Chinese yuan. Police had also announced on Saturday the arrest of a local coordinator of the Kiram forces. Police deputy Inspector-General Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said they believe the group has now lost both local support and direction. The New Straits Times report said the latest arrests brought to 408 the number of Kiram supporters since Malaysian security forces started offensive operations March 5. Authorities also claimed to have retrieved 38 bodies of Kiram supporters. Eight of these were taken out on Friday. — LBG, GMA News