Philippine police say they have captured four wives of Abu Sayyaf commanders who take care of their financial transactions, help procure guns and bomb parts and arrange the travels of foreign militants to the country.

Police say the women were arrested Tuesday in raids on houses in southern Zamboanga city where authorities seized two grenades, a bag of suspected ammonium nitrate and electrical parts that can be used in making bombs.

Police say the women work under Abu Sayyaf leader Hajan Sawadjaan, who is the main suspect in the Jan. 27 bombing of a Roman Catholic cathedral during a Mass that killed 23 people in nearby Sulu province. The cathedral attack by two suspected suicide bombers sparked the latest military offensive against the Abu Sayyaf.