Tuesday, April 12, 2011 at 7:46 a.m.
The Philippine army chief says a Filipino militant who is a local contact of the Southeast Asian Jemaah Islamiyah militant network has been arrested in southern Sultan Kudarat province.
Lt. Gen. Arturo Ortiz said troops on Tuesday arrested Abi Pamanay, a member of a special operations unit of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and a senior associate of Abdul Basit Usman.
Usman is a Filipino bomb-making expert with links to Jemaah Islamiyah and Philippine-based Abu Sayyaf extremists. The United States has offered a $1 million reward for information leading to the conviction of Usman, a suspect in deadly bombings.
Intelligence officials say Muslim rebels and the Abu Sayyaf have ties with the Jemaah Islamiyah