Manila - Philippine troops have arrested a senior officer of the Abu Sayyaf, the Muslim rebel group holding US and Filipino hostages in the south of the country, government officials said yesterday. The military presented at a news conference a handcuffed Mr Nadzmi Sabdulla, alias Commander Global, or Al Shariff, who they said was arrested on Sunday with three other Abu Sayyaf members in the southern city of General Santos.
"The capture of Commander Global . . . is a great setback for the ASG [Abu Sayyaf] group," army chief Lieut Gen Jaime de los Santos said. "I think with this capture, we expect to get further information on their operations." Mr Sabdulla (40), who bowed his head throughout the news conference carried live on national television, is the highest ranking Abu Sayyaf member ever arrested.