[Asia Times] Philippine police revealed that they detained two suspected terrorists during the Christmas holiday period who were part of a plot to detonate explosives and disrupt last week’s Black Nazarene procession.Sudais Asmad, said to be a member of Dawlah Islamiyah, an Abu Sayyaf umbrella group, was arrested at Binondo on December 20. Jeron Aba, also based in the southern region of Mindanao,was held in Barangay on December 25 after being seen with a pistol. He also had a grenade.
Manila Police spokesman Vicente Danao Jr said,“The suspect is a member of the Dawlaw Islamiyah and Moro Islamic Liberation Front and he was planning to conduct an improvised explosive device attack during the holiday season."
Danao said Aba had also admitted that he had fought during the five-month siege of Marawi. He said news of the arrests was suppressed at the time to avoid creating a public panic.