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.