Terror suspect deported

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II and Immigration Commisioner Jaime Morente present couple suspected of being Islamic States on Thursday, April 6, 2017. BI identified the male suspect as Hussein Aldhafiri and the female as Raja Zina, his wife. (Photo from JOAN BONDOC / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

A Kuwaiti man suspected to be a member of the Islamic State (IS)  was deported to his country on Friday to face charges, a justice department official said.

Hussein Al-Dhafiri, one of the two suspected IS members arrested in the Philippines last month, was flown out of the country to Kuwait, Justice Undersecretary Erickson Balmes said.

A statement from the Kuwaiti embassy said Dhafiri was due to be tried in his home country.

“Evidence obtained by Kuwait’s state security agencies also showed that he is planning to carry out terroristic attacks in the State of Kuwait,” the statement said.

Dhafiri was arrested along with a Syrian woman Rahaf Zina, also named as a member of the jihadist group.

Zina and Dhafiri married after her high-ranking IS commander husband was killed in Syria, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre said.

He earlier said the pair had entered the country as part of plans for “a bombing operation” in the Philippines or Kuwait.

President Duterte has warned that IS members might make their way into the country by infiltrating Muslim communities. —AFP