Police arrest suspect in failed hit on Sulu governor

Police arrested today one of the suspects in the failed assassination of a Philippine governor in a raid in the southern province of Sulu, officials said. Officials said commandos raided a hideout and captured Abner Tahil, alias "Abs" in the village of Kasangyangan in Jolo town. Tahil, who was implicated by the police in the roadside bombing which targeted Sulu Governor Sakur Tan last year in Patikul town. Police said ten people were injured in that attack, including a town mayor, after a parked motorcycle rigged with explosives was remotely detonated as Tan's convoy was passing by. Surprised but did not resist arrest Tahil was surprised by the raid and did not resist arrest, said Chief Inspector Amil Baanan, operations chief of the provincial police force. “The arrest of Tahil is part of a long intelligence operation," Baanan said. He added that Senior Superintendent Joseph Ramac, the Sulu police chief, has ordered security forces to intensify the hunt for other suspects in the bombing. Possible links to Zamboanga bombing Tahil is also being investigated for his role in a suicide bombing that also targeted Tan in Zamboanga City last month. Tan was among more than two dozen people injured in the bombing outside the Zamboanga International Airport. The bomber, Reynaldo Apilado, and Hatimil Haron, one of his cohorts, were killed in the blast. Police also implicated at least three more men – Allan Sabudin, Muamar Astali and Adong Salahuddin – in the attack, after they were seen in a hotel security video in Zamboanga City together with Apilado and Haron before the bombing. The three men remain at large. PNP Chief Versoza's statement “This is connected to the failed assassination of Governor Tan last year. We are looking into all angles and motives for the attack," said National police chief Jesus Versoza. Police blamed last year's attack on Tan on the militant group Abu Sayyaf, pointing out that two of the bombers were captured in a firefight with police commandos and they pointed to Tan’s political foes as the mastermind in the failed assassination. “Witnesses are coming out now and telling authorities that some people are also involved in the bombing," Tan has said, adding that authorities are now investigating the reports. - Al Jacinto/TJD, GMANews.TV