RP police arrests JI terror suspects<\/p>\n
Agencies, Manila<\/p>\n
Police said on Thursday they thwarted planned attacks on an
\nairport, malls, a church and U.S. troops with the arrests of
\nthree Jamaah Islamiyah members who allegedly came to the
\nPhilippines to train Muslim militants to make bombs.<\/p>\n
The two Indonesians and a Malaysian were arrested in southern
\nZamboanga city in December along with a Filipino member of the
\nAbu Sayyaf Muslim extremist group with bomb-making manuals, bomb
\nparts and funds to be used for attacks, officials said.<\/p>\n
They said they picked up Indonesians Mohammed Yusop Karim Faiz
\nand Mohammad Nasir Hamid and Malaysian Mohammed Ted Yolanda on
\nDec. 14 as they disembarked from ferries at the southern port of
\nZamboanga from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi and from
\nSandakan in Malaysia.<\/p>\n
Also arrested with the foreigners was an alleged member of the
\nFilipino Muslim militant group Abu Sayyaf.<\/p>\n
\"We were able to foil an attempt to bring into the country
\nterrorists with firearms, with training materials, with
\nexplosives, before they can do their thing,\" Interior Secretary
\nAngelo Reyes told reporters as the men were presented to media.
\nOne of them shouted \"Allahu Akbar!\" - or \"God is great.\"<\/p>\n
The men allegedly belonged to a previously unknown Jamaah
\nIslamiyah terror cell in the country. The arrests were not
\nimmediately announced to allow authorities to identify six of
\ntheir local comrades, one of whom has been arrested, said Chief
\nSupt. Ismael Rafanan, head of the police Intelligence Group.<\/p>\n
Police intelligence officials said the targets included a
\nRoman Catholic church and the airport in the bustling port city
\nof Davao, unspecified malls in Manila and U.S. soldiers
\nparticipating in joint training with the Philippine military.<\/p>\n
Authorities recovered bomb components, about US$7,000 and at
\nleast two pistols from the four, who were located in part due to
\nintelligence provided by Indonesia and Malaysia. While under
\nsurveillance, they were monitored meeting some Abu Sayyaf
\nmembers, officials said.<\/p>\n
The money was intended to finance the attacks and training to
\nmake explosives, including car bombs to be organized by Jamaah
\nIslamiyah in the southern region of Mindanao, officials said.<\/p>\n
The arrests are an indication of continuing collusion between
\nforeign militants and local Muslim radicals. They also rekindled
\nconcerns over the government's limitations in dealing with
\nterrorism and the need for the public to help guard against
\nattacks.<\/p>\n
\"We couldn't place an intelligence operative in every nook and
\ncorner of the country,\" Rafanan said.<\/p>\n
The four have been charged with illegal possession of
\nexplosives and firearms. The foreigners also violated immigration
\nlaws, they said.<\/p>\n
Rafanan said investigators were trying to verify whether the
\nfour have links with suspected Muslim militants responsible for
\nthree almost-simultaneous bombings that killed eight people in
\nManila, General Santos and Davao last week.<\/p>\n
Jamaah Islamiyah is blamed for several deadly attacks in
\nSoutheast Asia, including bombings on Indonesia's Bali island in
\n2002 that killed 202 people. Authorities also blame the group for
\na series of bomb attacks in Manila in December 2000 that left 22
\npeople dead.<\/p>\n
Philippine security officials say Jamaah Islamiyah has worked
\nwith members of Abu Sayyaf, a small but brutal al-Qaeda-linked
\ngroup on a U.S. list of terror organizations, and the Moro
\nIslamic Liberation Front, a larger group which has been fighting
\nfor a separate Muslim homeland in the southern Philippines.<\/p>\n
* Photo on Page 11<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rp-police-arrests-ji-terror-suspects-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }