Al-Ghozi believed hiding in southern RP

Al-Ghozi believed hiding in southern RP

Agence France-Presse, Zamboanga, Philippines

Escaped Indonesian terrorist Fathur Rohman Al-Ghozi is hiding in the Lanao region of the southern Philippines where police killed one of his cellmates who had broken out of prison with him, the military said on Friday.

Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) bomb-maker Al-Ghozi was believed hiding in or around Lanao del Norte province where his Filipino Muslim guerrilla cellmate and fellow fugitive Abdulmukim Edris was shot dead on Thursday, regional military chief Lt. Gen. Roy Kyamko said.

"There is a strong indication that Al-Ghozi is there," Kyamko said. "The military is going to undertake operations there against companions of Edris, whoever they are."

Edris, a member of the Abu Sayyaf kidnapping gang, was arrested on Thursday along with Mahmud Ismael, an alleged member of the Muslim separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebel group near the town of Sultan Naga Dimaporo following a tip-off from some civilians in the area, Kyamko said.

The two agreed to lead soldiers to the hideout of al-Ghozi, but were shot dead when they tried to grab their captors' weapons, the military said.

The unnamed informants would receive a reward for leading authorities to Edris, Kyamko said.

President Gloria Arroyo ordered the military to reveal all details on the shooting of Edris to allay suspicions that he was killed by the military to keep him silent.

Arroyo told the military "to inform the public of the circumstances in the slaying of Edris, to obviate any report questioning the rules of engagement."

But she also said she was cheered by the signs of progress in the manhunt,

"The long hand of justice will catch up with these characters, one way or another," she said.

The MILF is preparing to reopen peace talks with the government and has repeatedly denied accusations that it is has links to both the Abu Sayyaf and the JI regional Islamic extremist network.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu reiterated that his group was not hiding Al-Ghozi and said, "We have a standing order to all our commanders on the ground, to arrest Al-Ghozi and company at first sight."

He could not confirm if Edris had been killed in the company of a MILF member, but warned that this was possibly a "scripted" incident, arranged by the military to blacken the MILF's reputation.