Widow’s two sisters, father linked to terrorist groups also arrested, PNP says
The widow of Khadaffy Janjalani and Zulfikli Bin Hir alias Marwan has been arrested for allegedly supporting extremist groups and possessing firearms and explosives, police said on Sunday.
Juromee Dongon was married to Janjalani, a senior leader of the notorious Abu Sayyaf kidnap-for-ransom group until his death in 2006.
She then married the Malaysian bombmaker alias Marwan, who was killed in 2015.
In two operations in Lanao del Norte on Sunday, police arrested Dongon as well as her two sisters and father, regional police spokesman Superintendent Lemuel Gonda told AFP.
Firearms, ammunition and bomb-making components were found in her home, a police statement said.
“She assists, associates, networks and supports terrorist groups,” Gonda said.
He said after being linked to the Abu Sayyaf while he was married to Janjalani, Juromee was linked to the Jemaah Islamiyah when he was with Marwan.
Marwan was a leading member of JI and a suspect in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people as well as in two deadly Philippine attacks.
He died in a raid in the south that also left 44 police commandos dead. The US had offered a $5 million bounty for him.
The Dongons faced charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
Abu Sayyaf is an Islamist militant group which was set up in the 1990s with seed money from the Al-Qaeda network, and has been blamed for the worst terror attacks in the country’s history, including bombings.
The Abu Sayyaf had harbored JI militants in their bases in remote southern islands, including key suspects in the Bali bombings.
Security analysts have said widows of militant leaders played important roles in extremist groups as they enhanced the status of their second husbands. Agence France Presse
