ARRESTED. Mugshot of arrested suspect Abu Halil, a sub-commander of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, for his alleged involvement in the killing of 44 Special Action Force members on January 25, 2015. The suspect was served with an arrest warrant on Wednesday (Feb. 26, 2020) while confined at an undisclosed hospital in Cotabato City. (Photo courtesy of CIDG-BARMM)
COTABATO CITY – Police arrested one of the suspects in the January 25, 2015 massacre of 44 Special Action Force (SAF) personnel in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, inside a hospital here Wednesday afternoon.
Authorities served the arrest warrant for direct assault with murder against Abu Halil, a sub-commander of the 105th base command of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), while in confinement.
“The suspect was confined at the hospital for a still unknown illness when served with the arrest warrant,” said Capt. Rustom Pastolero, Police Station 2 commander.
Pastolero said the suspect will remain under heavy guard at the undisclosed hospital while being treated for his illness.
On Jan. 25, 2015, the SAF commandos went on a mission to capture Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan, and his cohorts in remote Barangay Tukanalipao, Mamasapano, Maguindanao.
The SAF commandos successfully neutralized Marwan but as the group withdrew from the site, they ran into members of the MILF and its breakaway faction, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), in the area.
The 12-hour gun battle that ensued left 44 SAF troopers, 17 MILF and BIFF rebels, and five civilians dead.
The MILF, which has been forging a peace deal with the government that time, has called the incident as a “misencounter” as there was no prior coordination with them when the SAF forces entered a MILF-held area. (PNA)
