A man believed to be a former “henchman” of Osama bin Laden’s family has been arrested by Philippine authorities in Mindanao island and will be deported, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced in a statement yesterday.
Mahmoud Afif Abdeljalil, 51 years old, was arrested by authorities from the BI, military, and police in Zamboanga City on July 4, Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said.
Abdeljalil was allegedly the henchman of Osama’s brother-in-law. According to Morente, the Jordanian national is considered an illegal entrant because there are no records that show his arrival to the Philippines after being arrested and deported in 2003.
Sixteen years ago, Abdeljalil was arrested in the Philippines and was identified as a suspected Al Qaeda operative with links to Osama’s brother-in-law Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, The Los Angeles Times reported. At that time, authorities said that Abdeljalil was trying to sell Philippine properties that Khalifa acquired.
According to the BI, authorities back then also said that Abdeljalil managed several charity organizations in the southern Philippines that allegedly funneled money to Al Qaeda and the Abu Sayyaf Group, a jihadist group based in the Philippines. He allegedly continued to support the Abu Sayyaf financially even after Khalifa was killed in 2007. This, after the Philippine Central Bank froze Khalifa’s bank accounts and financial assets three years after Abdeljalil was deported.
The BI’s Morente said that Abdeljalil managed to live in the Philippines by using a fake name and falsifying public documents.
Authorities started to monitor the suspect after he and an Algerian companion were flagged down a military checkpoint in Zamboanga in August last year. They later confirmed that Abdeljalil had been illegally staying in the Philippines, which led Morente to order his arrest.
Abdeljalil said during questioning that he had been back in the Philippines since 2007 and admitted his arrest and deportation in 2003.
News of Abdeljalil’s arrest comes the same day United States officials announced that they have reason to believe Osama’s son Hamza bin Laden is dead and was killed some time in the last two years, The New York Times reported.
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