Philippines guerrilla leader is arrested

A Muslim guerrilla leader suspected of masterminding a campaign of deadly bombings in the Philippines has been captured by police.

Nearly 50 officers and military intelligence agents arrested Noor Mohammad Umog, who allegedly heads a special operations unit of Abu Sayyaf, an extremist group that has been linked to al-Qa'ida.

Superintendent Bartolome Baluyot said Mr Umog was seized as he left a restaurant in the southern city of Cotabato on Wednesday. Police are preparing to charge him with multiple murders for three bomb attacks that killed 15 people and wounded nearly 100 outside a shopping mall in the southern port city of General Santos on 21 April.

At the time of his capture he also had 50 arrest warrants out against him for kidnappings in southern Jolo and Basilan, the island base of Abu Sayyaf.

Supt Bartolome said: "This guy is involved in bombings, many kidnappings, extortion, and his arrest is a major blow to his group." Police believe Mr Umog was the person who called a local radio station to claim responsibility for the General Santos bombings on behalf of Al Harakatul Islamiya, Abu Sayyaf's formal name.

Two suspects arrested a day after the bombings claimed that more attacks were planned around the country to destabilise the government.

Abu Sayyaf is also using the threat of more bombings to extort money from business establishments, according to the police.

Mr Umog, a former teacher from Basilan, was identified by five suspected guerrillas who said hewas the right-hand man of Khadafy Janjalani, the leader of the rebels who have been holding the American missionaries Gracia and Martin Burnham for nearly a year in Basilan's jungles.

The US military is providing training and weapons to Philippines troops to destroy rebel strongholds in Basilan, a predominantly Muslim province of more than 300,000 people, and to help rescue the Burnhams, kidnapped from an island resort on 27 May last year.