Philippines seen as source for Indonesian bombs<\/p>\n
Agencies, Manila<\/p>\n
Bomb material used in many militant attacks in Indonesia may
\nhave been sourced from the turbulent southern Philippines, a
\nsenior Philippine police intelligence official said on Friday.<\/p>\n
The official, who declined to be named, said intercepted e-
\nmail exchanges between militants indicated that a shipment of
\nhigh explosives had been sent early this year to Indonesia from
\nthe Philippine island of Mindanao.<\/p>\n
The southern Philippines has faced a separatist Muslim
\nrebellion for the past 40 years.<\/p>\n
\"The militants had successfully purchased materials for bombs
\nto be used on Indonesian targets,\" the intelligence official told
\nReuters, citing a classified security report prepared last April.<\/p>\n
The report summarized e-mail exchanges between suspected
\nIndonesian militant leader, Dulmatin, who has been hiding on
\nMindanao since April, 2003, and other suspected militants.<\/p>\n
The e-mail messages, translated from Indonesian and Arabic
\ninto English, were shared by Indonesian intelligence with their
\nPhilippine counterparts, said the official.<\/p>\n
Dulmatin, a key suspect in the Bali bombings that killed 202
\npeople in October 2002, is believed to be working closely with al
\nQaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf rebels in the Philippines.<\/p>\n
Philippine intelligence officials believe moribund mining and
\nconstruction companies in the southern Philippines may be the
\nsource of explosives bought by the Indonesian militants.<\/p>\n
In January 2002, Philippine security forces seized about one
\nton of explosive materials hidden in a warehouse in the southern
\nport city of General Santos.<\/p>\n
The Philippines said the material, about to be shipped to
\nSingapore via Indonesia, was bought by Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi, an
\nIndonesian operative for the regional militant network Jemaah
\nIslamiyah, who planned and financed bomb attacks in Manila on
\nDec. 30, 2000, that killed about 22 people.<\/p>\n
\"It was also possible that explosive materials were sourced
\nfrom unexploded bombs and mortar shells recovered by the Muslim
\nrebels in the south,\" said the intelligence official.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, AP reported that Muslim militants in the Abu Sayyaf
\ngroup and their Indonesian allies have been trying to solicit
\nmoney from unidentified Middle Eastern financiers to buy weapons
\nand fund new terror attacks, according to government reports.<\/p>\n
Details of the fund-raising effort and planned attacks were
\nobtained by Philippine security officials from Indonesian
\ncounterparts, who recently captured two suspected militants with
\nknowledge of Filipino rebel activities, the reports said.<\/p>\n
Copies of the reports, which summarized intelligence relayed
\nby Indonesian authorities, were seen by AP on Friday.<\/p>\n
The captured militants in Indonesia - Abdullah Sunata,
\nallegedly the head of a group called Kompak in Ambon, and Encen
\nKurnia, who reportedly belongs to Negara Islam Indonesia (Islamic
\nState of Indonesia) - were among 15 suspected militants captured
\nby the Indonesian police during an anti-insurgency sweep from
\nJune to July, the reports said.<\/p>\n
Four of the 15, including Abdullah and Encen, had received
\nmilitary training in southern Philippine rebel camps. The two
\nlater helped organize covert training and to escort Indonesian
\nrecruits from their country to the southern region of Mindanao,
\naccording to the reports.<\/p>\n
In letters found by Indonesian authorities, Abdullah
\nseparately discussed with two compatriots hiding in the
\nPhilippines - Umar Patek and Pitono or Dulmatin - the fund-
\nraising campaign and planned attacks in the Philippines, as well
\nas efforts to obtain explosives in the country for an unspecified
\nattack in Indonesia, the reports said.<\/p>\n
Such continuing collaboration indicates ongoing operational
\nties between militants in the Philippines and Indonesia, despite
\nyears of counter-terror crackdowns in the two neighboring
\ncountries.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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