Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana announced Friday that three members of the Maute Terrorist Group, who allegedly took part in the Davao City blast last Sept. 2, are now under custody of authorities.
In a press briefing, the DND chief said the three were arrested in a mobile checkpoint by joint elements of the Philippine Army and the Philippine National Police last Oct. 4 in Cotabato City.
The three were identified as TJ Tagadaya Macabalang, Wendel Apostol Facturan, and Musali Mustapha, members of the Maute Group.
All three were arrested after attempting to evade the checkpoint on board a motorcycle with no license plate, Lorenzana said.
“We have recovered solid pieces of evidence showing that they are indeed the terrorists who bombed Davao City on September 2,” he stressed,
Confiscated from the suspects were various components for improvised explosive devices, a sub-machine gun, a .45 caliber pistol, their motorcycle, and various cellular phones.
Based on initial investigations and debriefing, it was found that Macabalang detonated the bomb that was placed in position by Facturan.
Mustapha, meanwhile, took a video of the incident using his cellular phone.
Read the full story at Tankler