'BIFF bomber' killed in Cotabato City shootout

From the Philippine News Agency (Dec 1, 2020): 'BIFF bomber' killed in Cotabato City shootout (By Noel Punzalan)

KILLED IN SHOOTOUT. Suspected bomber Abraham Abad Abdulrahman lays dead inside his hideout following a predawn shootout with authorities in Barangay Bagua 2, Cotabato City on Tuesday (Dec. 1, 2020). A report from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group says the suspect was one of those who planned and carried out the Dec. 31, 2018 bombing at the entrance of South Seas Mall in Cotabato City that killed two and injured 34 other shoppers. (Photo courtesy of Brigada News FM Cotabato)

COTABATO CITY – Members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (CIDG-BARMM) killed a suspected terror bomber at his hideout here during a pre-dawn operation on Tuesday.

Maj. Esmael Madin, CIDG-BARMM deputy regional chief, identified the suspect as Abraham Abad Abdulrahman alias Abu Suffian, one of the primary suspects behind the South Seas Mall bombing on Dec. 31, 2018.

The explosion that took place just outside the mall’s main entrance door killed two and injured 34 others.

“A surprised Abdulrahman was killed after pulling out a handgun from underneath a pillow on his bed and firing at our arresting team,” Madin said of the 1:30 a.m. operation against Abdulrahman and his group in Barangay Bagua 2.

Madin said the arresting team was in the area to serve a search warrant issued by Judge Allan Edwin Boncavil of the 12th Judicial RTC Branch 19 in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat, against Jasmiya Camsa Ibrahim, an alleged cohort of Abdulrahman, for violation of Republic Act 10591, or the Comprehensive Law on Firearms and Ammunition Act.

“Unfortunately, Ibrahim, who is the primary target, managed to elude arrest,” Madin said.

Recovered from the slain suspect were a .45-caliber pistol, a hand grenade, and bomb-making components, and other evidence, he said.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1123509