Philippines Extraditing Terror Suspect to US - Justice Secretary

According to the newspaper Philippine Daily Inquirer, the country will extradite a Philipino national accused of preparing terrorist acts in the US.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Philippines is extraditing a Philipino national accused of the preparation of terrorist acts in New York to the United States, country's Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre said Sunday.

"We have to begin the extradition proceedings being requested. We have a process to be followed and this has been done many times in the past," Aguirre said, as quoted by the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper.

On Friday,  the US Manhattan Attorney's Office unsealed charges against three men accused of plotting terrorist attacks in New York City during the summer of 2016, including Russell Salic, a 37-year-old citizen of the Philippines.

According to Aguirre, Salic is also being investigated in the Philippines for his alleged involvement in the kidnapping of six and the murder of two sawmill workers in April.

Salic is currently under the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation of the Philippines, the justice secretary added.

According to the US Justice Department, the three suspects planned the terrorist attacks in the New York subway, an explosion at the famous Times Square and shooting at concerts during the holy month of Ramadan in 2016. The accused prepared terrorist acts "in the name of IS" [Daesh], and Salic transferred funds from the Philippines to the United States to finance the planned terrorist attacks.