A relative of the Maute brothers who is a suspected bomber of the terrorist group was arrested by government troops in Cagayan de Oro City on Thursday morning.

Brig. Gen. Gilbert Gapay, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) martial law spokesman, said Mohammad Noaim Maute alyas Abu Jadid was arrested by joint AFP-PNP Special Action Group in his rented house at Sitio Sta. Cruz, Macasandig, Cagayan De Oro City around 7 am.

“His arrest came after a concerned citizen informed the presence of a person who has a resemblance of alias Abu Jadid who is in a photo gallery posted all over Mindanao,” he said.

The parents of the Maute brothers have been arrested last week.

Gapay said Abu Jadid was arrested by virtue of Arrest Order No. 1 signed by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on May 29, 2017.

“Abu Jadid is an Arabic teacher in Marawi City. He is also suspected to be a bomb expert of the Maute Group who uses fake student identification of Mindanao State University under the name Alfaiz Mamintal to conceal his identity,” he said.

Gapay said during the initial investigation Jadid admitted he is Mohammad Maute, a cousin of the Maute brothers.

“He is presently detained in Cagayan De Oro City Police and undergoing legal process,” he said.

“On the other hand, Eastern Mindanao Command expresses its appreciation to the support of the people, for the information they gave that led to the arrest of Mohammad Maute. Further, the Command is asking the continuous support of the general public in the implementation of Martial Law and as troops continue to conduct stringent security and law enforcement operations to shield Eastern Mindanao from terroristic activities,: he added.

Gapay said the Eastern Mindanao Command is expecting more arrests in the coming days as tracking and monitoring are intensified against the persons listed in the two orders of arrest issued by Lorenzana. Robina Asido/DMS