2 nabbed for slay of 3 Army intel officers

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Phillipines – Two men tagged in the murder of three Philippine Army intelligence officers were arrested in Lamitan, Basilan on Monday.

The suspects – identified as Abdul Hadi Siddick, 35, and Hamudi Ablaha, 32 – were reportedly the second and the third most wanted persons, respectively, in the Bangsamoro region.

Siddick and Ablaha were collared by a team of the Basilan police drug enforcement unit and special operations group in Barangay Baimbing.

Bangsamoro police director Col. Edison Dumangas said the suspects have pending arrest warrants for three counts of murder in connection with the fatal ambush of the Army officers in December 2024.

Probers said the suspects are relatives of Saddam Siddick, the alleged leader of a lawless group wanted for ambuscades in Tipo-Tipo and Lamitan early this month.

The ambuscades left an Army trooper dead and 18 others including two civilians wounded.

Earlier, the Western Mindanao Command ordered troopers on the ground to get Siddick dead or alive.