Philippine troops have arrested four wives of suspected militants and accused them of aiding kidnappings by the Al-Qaeda-linked terror group Abu Sayyaf, officials said Thursday. The women detained Tuesday at a checkpoint on southern Jolo Island included the two wives of Abu Sayyaf commander Albader Parad, the main suspect in the Jan. 15 abduction of three international Red Cross workers, said navy spokesman Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo. One of Parad's wives, Rowena “Honey” Aksan, allegedly took part in the kidnapping and had been seen inside Abu Sayyaf jungle camps, Arevalo said. He said the marines, in coordination with police, were set to file criminal complaints against the women, who could not be reached for comment. The Abu Sayyaf, which has about 400 fighters, is on the US list of terrorist organizations because bombings, ransom kidnappings and beheadings of hostages have rattled the southern Philippines for decades. The group is suspected of receiving funds and training from Al-Qaeda. Tuesday's arrests came hours after a motorcycle bomb blast, blamed on the Abu Sayyaf, killed two people and wounded 31 in the provincial capital, Jolo. The military said the explosion might have been a diversionary tactic to relieve the pressure on gunmen still holding one ailing Red Cross hostage, Italian Eugenio Vagni. The two others have been released. The other women arrested were Rabia Polalon Asiri, the wife of suspected Abu Sayyaf demolition expert Alvin Bagadi, and Marwina Salasain, the wife of suspected bomb-making expert Alhabsy Misaya, Arevalo said. Parad's brother-in-law and Bagadi's brother also were arrested and face charges of providing support to the Abu Sayyaf, he said. The Abu Sayyaf and its allies have turned to kidnappings to make money in recent years, raising concerns among Philippine and US security officials that ransom payments could revive the group, which has been weakened by years of US-backed offensives.
