RP denies bombers trained in country

RP denies bombers trained in country

THE PHILIPPINES: The Philippines rejected on Wednesday allegations that the masterminds behind the weekend bombings in Bali had undergone military training in guerrilla camps run by separatist Muslim rebels on its territory.

National police chief director-general Arturo Lomibao said the armed forces had overrun all major Muslim militant camps in the southern region of Mindanao in recent years, forcing the rebels to move their bases elsewhere.

"With the dismantling of enemy camps in Mindanao, they now move from place to place. There are no established training camps like what they are talking about," Lomibao said on government television.

Indonesian police have said they are looking for five suspects who might have been involved in Saturday's deadly bombings in Bali, which left 22 people dead and more than 100 injured.

The police chief in Banten province in West Java, Badrodin Haiti, has said that some of the five suspects had undergone military training in the southern Philippines.

Security officials privately say that local Muslim guerrillas have sheltered foreign extremists in their camps over the past few years despite a cease-fire agreement with the government.

President Gloria Arroyo conceded on Wednesday that with the porous maritime borders between Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, "it is easy for terrorists to move from one country to another". --AFP