RP braces for `new wave of terrorist threats'

RP braces for `new wave of terrorist threats'

Agencies, Manila

Philippine authorities should brace for a possible wave of
terrorist attacks as soon as a unilateral cease-fire called by
Moro separatist guerrillas expires this week, President Gloria
Arroyo said on Wednesday.

"We may face a fresh wave of terrorist threats," said Arroyo,
on a visit to the troubled south.

"The police and military must be prepared, backed by the
vigilance of alert communities."

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) declared a 10-day
cease-fire earlier this month to give stalled peace talks a
chance to resume. But Arroyo did not reciprocate, calling the
move a tactical ploy by the rebels to regroup amid a massive
military assault.

The cease-fire was to end on Thursday, and Arroyo vowed to
"sustain selective punitive actions" against the MILF, which she
and the military blame for a spate of deadly attacks that have
left around 100 dead since March.

The MILF however may extend the truce for one more week after
a request by the Malaysian government, MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu
said.

"The request was made through brother Murad from the office of
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad," Kabalu said, referring to Murad
Ebrahim, the MILF's military chief.

"The central committee will come out with a decision
tomorrow," he said.

Malaysia, a member of the influential Organization of Islamic
Conference (OIC), has been mediating peace negotiations between
the two sides.

Armed forces deputy chief Lt. Gen. Rodolfo Garcia said the
military welcomed a possible extension of the truce "if that is
indeed true."

"It is a very positive development that hopefully would enable
to go back to the peace track," Garcia said.

But Arroyo's spokesman Ignacio Bunye said MILF violence during
the cease-fire was proof that the guerrilla leadership "cannot
discipline their own forces in the field."

Separately, a former hostage held for more than three years by
the Abu Sayyaf has provided crucial information about his captors
that could speed up operations against the Moro extremist group,
a Philippine army general said on Wednesday.

Roland Ulah has been in military custody for about a week
after escaping in the confusion of a gunbattle between soldiers
and the rebels outside Patikul town on southern Jolo island.

"If everything that Ulah said is true, it will spell a very
big difference in the operation in Jolo," said Brig. Gen. Romeo
Tolentino, commander of military forces on Jolo. He refused to
elaborate.

A military officer with the Southern Command, who asked not to
be identified, said Ulah saw Indonesian-speaking men training Abu
Sayyaf guerrillas in marksmanship and sniping.

Ulah also said the rebels have broken up into small groups to
avoid encounters with the military, including one group under Abu
Sayyaf chief Khadaffy Janjalani. The guerrillas were armed mostly
with M-16 rifles, some with grenade launchers attached, the
officer quoted Ulah as saying.

He said Ulah was held by a group led by Radulan Sahiron, a
one-armed rebel commander who carries a 5 million peso (about
US$94,300) bounty on his head.

A military intelligence report early in April quoted three
former hostages as saying Abu Sayyaf members received combat and
explosives training by two Indonesian instructors and threatened
to attack U.S. troops who are to be deployed in the southern
Philippines for a counterterrorism training exercise.