Military bares connection of 3 suicide bombers in Sulu; confirms Abu Sayyaf link to ISIS

Fom GMA News (Nov 15, 2019): Military bares connection of 3 suicide bombers in Sulu; confirms Abu Sayyaf link to ISIS

Based on a DNA test, the military has bared the connection of the three foreign suicide bombers who were killed in separate incidents in Indanan, Sulu.

Citing information from the Police Regional Office 11 Crime Laboratory, the Joint Task Force Sulu said there was a 99.9 % match between the DNA samples of the young suicide bomber in the clash in Barangay Kan Islam last November 5 and the female suicide bomber who had perpetrated the explosion at the entrance gate of a military detachment in Barangay Kajatian on September 8.

Lieutenant Colonel Gerald Monfort said the young suicide bomber was identified as "Abduramil" or "Yousoph." The female suicide bomber, who was believed to be Abduramil's mother, was identified as Reda Mohammad Mahmud.

The military further said there was no match between the DNA samples of Abduramil and the adult foreign suicide bomber who was also killed on November 5.

"The result of the DNA test confirmed the intelligence report that the adult foreign suicide bomber, identified as Baker Al Seddik Barakat, also known as Abduracman, was only the stepfather of Abduramil," the military said in a statement.

The military said Reda, the lone fatality in the September 8 explosion, was involved in the bombing of churches in Egypt in 2017 which claimed the lives of 92 individuals and hurt 252 others.

Police Colonel Pablo Labra, director of the Sulu Provincial Police Office, said Reda, together with Abduracman and Abduramil, traveled to Mindanao through backdoor channel to seek refuge with the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu with the help of ISIS connections in Southeast Asia.

Meanwhile, Major General Corleto Vinluan, commander of JTF Sulu, said the DNA test results have indicated that the ISIS had a hand in the bombing incidents in Sulu.

"It is very ironic that the ASG who is projecting as a Muslim advocate for peace have coddled criminals from other countries who have created havoc in Sulu," Vinluan said.

Aside from Abduramil and Abduracman, one local Abu Sayyaf member was killed in the encounter with troops from the 41st Infantry Battalion and the 1102nd Infantry Brigade at a checkpoint at Sitio Itawon, Barangay Kan Islam.

The military had said the vests recovered were identical to the vests used by the suicide bombers in the two attacks in Barangay Tanjung, Indanan, Sulu on June 28 and September 8, of this year.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/regions/715590/military-bares-connection-of-3-suicide-bombers-in-sulu-confirms-abu-sayyaf-link-to-isis/story/