The Philippine Online Chronicles

Two of the kidnappers of 18 foreign and local tourists in 2001 were caught by authorities in separate operations in Manila and Mindanao last February 18.

Suspected Abu Sayyaf Group member Jumadail Arad, also known by the aliases Abu Hurayra and Asim Mang-kabong Absar was apprehended by a joint team of navy intelligence operatives and police in North Harbor while on board a shuttle bus.

Meanwhile, Abubakar Macrohon alias Abu Musawi Macrohon was captured in a bank in Isabela City, Basilan by intelligence agents of the 9th Regional Mobile Group Thursday morning, said Senior Superintendent Antonio Mendoza, Basilan police director, according to Philstar.com.

Arad is not a high-ranking member of the group, but is an associate of Isnilon Hapilon, an Abu Sayyaf commander with a $5mn bounty offered by the US government, Gulf News reported. He was the driver of a speedboat used by the al-Qaeda linked Abu Sayyaf in the 2001 raid on Dos Palmas Resort in Palawan in which Burnham, her husband Martin and fellow American Guillermo Sobero were kidnapped.

According to Philippine Navy officers, Arad, a native of Patikul, Sulu, has been in hiding since 2001. He laid low after Abu Sayyaf leaders Abu Sabaya, Hamsiraji Sali, and Khadaffy Janjalani were separately neutralized by government forces. Arad was just moving around Metro Manila and Mindanao but the military said they kept an eye on him.

Military intelligence officials alleged that Arad was on a mission to buy ammunition for the Abu Sayyaf when he was arrested. He is presently under the custody of the Philippine National Police.

The US Embassy hailed the arrests. Embassy spokeswoman Rebecca Thompson said in a statement, "We applaud the efforts of the armed forces of the Philippines to bring terrorists to justice."

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