Philippine security forces have arrested an Egyptian man suspected of being a recruiter and former commander of the Islamic State (IS) group, the country’s police chief said yesterday.
But the suspect, identified as Fehmi Lassoued, told state prosecutors that he was forced by police during interrogation to admit that he was from the international terrorist group.
“They forced me to say I am from ISIS,” he said, during his inquest at the Department of Justice, referring to the terrorist group by its other acronym.
Lassoued was caught at the weekend with his Filipino girlfriend Anabel Salipada in a flat in Manila, said police director general Ronald Dela Rosa. A joint team of police and soldiers seized assorted firearms, ammunition and components for making improvised explosive devices from Lassoued and Salipada’s apartment, Dela Rosa said. “Lassoued is a former commander of the ISIS in the Syria-Turkey border,” he added during a press conference, where he presented the suspect to media. “Here in the Philippines, his status is recruiter.”
Dela Rosa said intelligence officers were still gathering all information about Lassoued , who has been travelling in and out of Manila from Malaysia and Turkey since July 2016 using a fake Tunisian passport.
“We will find out how many he has recruited after the investigation,” he added.
Lassoued admitted that his passport was fake, but denied owning the weapons seized or having any intention to do anything bad in the Philippines.
Egyptian national Fehmi Lassoued is presented to members of the media after being arrested, during a press conference at the Philippine National Police general headquarters in Quezon City, yesterday.
