According to reports, Musa Cerantonio, the radical Australian cleric who claimed he traveled to Syria and joined the Islamic State, has been arrested in Cebu in the Philippines.
The Philippines’ national chief of police confirmed that Cerantonio was arrested at his apartment, and said he will be deported to Australia, where he is wanted by the Australian Federal Police, SBS/APP reported today.
“Cerantonio was arrested at the request of the Australian government and will be deported because Canberra has canceled his passport, making him an illegal alien,” Naharnet reported.
A video claiming to show Cerantonio being taken out of an apartment in handcuffs by Philippines police was posted on YouTube by Millatu Ibrahim AU (Australia), a Salafist group that includes a banner flown by al Qaeda and the Islamic State in its banner. The video is titled “Musa Cerantonio arrested by kuffar [unbeliever] in Philipines [sic].”
Cerantonio had announced on Twitter on July 1 that he was traveling to Syria to join the Islamic State, and said two days later that he had arrived in the country. He did not update his Twitter page after July 3.
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