Philippine police arrest mastermind of ferry bombing

Manila: A Philippine anti-terrorism official said on Saturday that police have arrested one of the alleged masterminds of a ferry bombing that killed 116 people four years ago.

Chairman of the Anti-Terrorism Council Eduardo Ermita said suspect Ruben Pestano Lavilla Jr was deported to Manila from Bahrain on Saturday.

Justice Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor called Lavilla as "the brains" of the Al Qaida-linked Rajah Solaiman Movement.

Blancaflor said the man was arrested in Bahrain last month after he applied for a job at the Philippine embassy there.