Kenyan linked to Al-Qaeda held in Philippines
Wednesday July 03 2019
Kenyan Cholo Abdi Abdullah, 28, was arrested on July 1, 2019 inside Rasca Hotel in Iba, Zambales, the Philippines. PHOTO | COURTESY
A joint operation by intelligence officers, police and soldiers on Monday in the town of Zambales, in the Philippines, led to the arrest of a Kenyan who is suspected to be a member of global terrorist group Al-Qaeda.
Mr Cholo Abdi Abdullah, 28, was arrested on Monday afternoon inside room 28 of Rasca Hotel in Iba, Zambales, where he was found in possession of deadly weapons, including a 9mm pistol with a loaded magazine, an improvised explosive device, an MKZ hand grenade and bomb making material.
He was put into custody in an undisclosed location and police officers have refused to reveal his whereabouts citing “security reasons.”
The South East Asian country has seen an upsurge in terror related attacks which have been linked to Abu Sayyaf, a local militia group that operates in the Philippines.
Police through the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Major General Amador Corpus said that they were investigating whether Mr Abdullah, who went to the Philippines in 2017, was linked to Abu Sayyaf and whether he was planning any major attack in the country.
“It was an urgent operation considering he was described by our foreign counterparts as very dangerous,” he said.
Maj Gen Corpus said that police received foreign intelligence reports about Mr Abdullah who they believe has been a member of the terrorist group since 2012. The reports described him as dangerous.
He said that the intelligence reports assisted the police in pinning down where he was staying and that they were worried he might have links to local terrorist groups.