RP probes MILF links to RI militants

RP probes MILF links to RI militants

PHILIPPINES: Security officials said on Monday they were investigating whether Muslim rebels in the southern Philippines provided training for six Indonesian militants who were reportedly arrested in neighboring Malaysia.

The Indonesians were arrested two months ago in Malaysia's eastern Sabah state for allegedly training in a Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) camp run by the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, a senior Malaysian official said on Saturday.

The Indonesians were being held under Malaysia's security laws allowing indefinite detention without trial, the Malaysian official said.

If true, the allegation could endanger peace talks between the Philippine government and the MILF, the main Muslim rebel group, which has denied links to al-Qaeda-linked JI, National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said.

The MILF has renounced terrorism and pledged to help the government arrest suspected terrorists. But it has been hounded by allegations of links with JI, which reportedly seeks to transform Southeast Asia's Islamic heartland into an extremist enclave. -- AP