Sayyaf ‘financial facilitator’ nabbed in Basilan

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — A woman, said to be a ”financial facilitator” of Abu Sayyaf bandits, was arrested in Isabela City, Basilan on Saturday.

Norkisa Omar Asnalul, 32, was apprehended in Sitio Bliss, Barangay Lanote by operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and local police based on a warrant issued by a local court, Brig. Gen. Bowen Joey Masauding, Zamboanga peninsula police director, said.

Asnalul was charged with violation of the Anti-Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act on Dec. 20. She was on the most wanted list of the CIDG.

The suspect is the widow of Ramji Ajiju, son of Abu Sayyaf bomb expert Abdullah Ajijul, who was tagged in the bombing of a pension house in this city in 2011 that left three people dead.

Asnalul reportedly met with people with links to the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda for money and provisions for Abu Sayyaf bandits to sustain their terroristic activities.