Sultan Kudarat bomb suspect on US terror list

KORONADAL CITY, Philippines — A wanted man in the US government’s terror list was allegedly behind Monday’s bomb attack in Sultan Kudarat province, a military official said. Col. Marlou L. Salazar, commander of the 601st Brigade, tagged Abdul Basit Usman, carrying a P2.5-million bounty, as behind the explosion in the provincial capital Isulan, and also to the explosive defused hours later in Tacurong City in the same province. "[Usman] is the local operative of JI [Jemaah Islamiyah]. The design of the bombs on Monday was the same one used in previous bombings [in the region] by his group," Mr. Salazar said, noting the bombs were made from 81-mm mortars. Based on the United States’ description, Usman is "a known terrorist with links to Jemaah Islamiyah and believed responsible for bombings in Mindanao in October 2006 that killed eight innocent civilians and left 30 others wounded." Usman faces multiple murder and frustrated murder charges for the April 21, 2002 blast outside Fitmart Mall in neighboring General Santos City that left 15 people dead and more than 50 others wounded. He was captured in July 2002 by government operatives in the boundary of Sultan Kudarat and Maguindanao provinces. But in October 2002, Usman bolted from the Sarangani provincial police headquarters after he was accorded a "very important person" treatment, then Central Mindanao police director Chief Superintendent Jose O. Dalumpines said. "After investigating, we learned that the suspect was just detained but never jailed at the [Sarangani Provincial Police Mobile Group] 1206th barracks. He was also not handcuffed by his custodians," Mr. Dalumpines said at the time. Usman confessed in his arrest that he was a member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a claim then debunked by MILF Spokesman Eid Kabalu. Usman, who uses the alias Abu Ahmad, had belied reports that he was a foreign-trained bomb expert, saying in Filipino, "It’s impossible for me to go out of the country, I was able to finish only Grade One." But Mr. Salazar maintained that Usman was among those locally trained bomb experts by the Jemaah Islamiyah, which has supposed links to Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda network. Claiming that Usman is a rogue MILF member, he called on residents to be vigilant against terror threats. "These terrorists are just looking for an opportune time to strike," Mr. Salazar said. — Romer S. Sarmiento, BusinessWorld