Bombing expert nabbed in Mindanao

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines - Police nabbed Tuesday after a month-long surveillance a  Moro ordnance expert who has a P1.5-million reward on his head for his involvement in more than a dozen deadly bombings in Central Mindanao in recent years, police announced Thursday.

The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (CIDG-ARMM) announced the arrest of Kaharudin Lacman Silongan only on Thursday, after an extensive verification of his identity.

Silongan is also known among local Moro secessionist factions as Commander Tagah Dagadas, whose group is operating in secluded areas at the border of Central Mindanao’s adjoining Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat provinces.

Silongan was cornered by CIDG-ARMM agents at the border of Ampatuan town and Esperanza, Sultan Kudarat, while on board a passenger jeepney bound for the town proper of Shariff Aguak, also in Maguindanao.

The CIDG-ARMM said Silongan ranked 17th in the list of the most wanted men in the Philippines.

Silongan, a known henchman of foreign-trained bomber Basit Usman, was implicated in the deadly bombings of buses, terminals and commercial establishments in Central Mindanao from the early 2000s to late 2007.

The police had recommended Silongan’s detention in a facility outside of Mindanao to prevent him from getting sprung by his cohorts.

The arrest of Silongan was carried out via a warrant issued by the Regional Trial Court Branch 23 in North Cotabato in connection with a bombing attack in 2007 in Kidapawan City.

Silongan was also tagged as among a group of foreign-trained bombers behind  a spate of recent bombings in Koronadal City and in the adjoining Sultan Kudarat and Maguindanao provinces.