RP police defuse bombs in Manila<\/p>\n
Reuters, Manila<\/p>\n
Philippine police have defused two explosives planted in the
\nMakati financial district of the capital Manila by a group
\ndemanding separate federal states for the country's Christians
\nand Muslims, officials said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The previously unheard of group, styling itself as the
\n\"Indigenous People's Federal Army,\" appears to have no connection
\nwith foreign extremist networks, such as Osama bin Laden's al-
\nQaeda, Makati police chief Col. Jovie Gutierrez said.<\/p>\n
\"Maybe they just want to call attention to themselves or to
\nscare,\" Gutierrez said by telephone.<\/p>\n
The recovery of the explosives coincided with a stepped up
\nalert in Philippine urban centers against possible attacks by
\nlocal extremist groups.<\/p>\n
The United States has accused Abu Sayyaf guerrillas, operating
\non the southern island of Basilan, of links to al-Qaeda.<\/p>\n
Gutierrez said the explosives, consisting of a round of
\nmortar, two grenades, blue powder and batteries, were found
\nbefore midnight (11 p.m. in Jakarta) on Monday but appeared
\nunrelated to the visit of FBI Director Robert Mueller, who had
\nleft Manila hours earlier.<\/p>\n
Mueller held talks with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on
\nways of combating groups linked to bin Laden and al-Qaeda,
\nalleged masterminds of the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and
\nWashington.<\/p>\n
One of the explosives was found in a flower bed along the main
\nAyala Avenue while the other was found blocks away on a street
\nsidewalk.<\/p>\n
Letters found with the explosives contained demands for the
\nestablishment of separate federal states for Christians, Muslims
\nand indigenous ethnic minorities in the largely Roman Catholic
\ncountry, Gutierrez said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Philippine troops shot dead four Moro guerrillas on
\nTuesday, in a stepped up offensive to rescue two American
\nhostages held by a group linked to bin Laden's al-Qaeda network,
\nthe military said.<\/p>\n
Officials said high-tech U.S. detection equipment was helping
\nlocal soldiers pinpoint the hideouts of the Abu Sayyaf rebels,
\nenhancing chances of rescuing American missionary couple Martin
\nand Gracia Burnham and a Filipina nurse.<\/p>",
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