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MILF bares al-Qaeda plot vs ASEAN
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said on Sunday that al-Qaeda-affiliated militants had plotted to disrupt the 12th Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Cebu. Eid Kabalu, MILF spokesperson, told the Inquirer by phone that their field commanders monitored the plot, which was hatched by militants active in Mindanao.The ASEAN meet was moved to January next year because of threats from Typhoon Seniang (international code name: Utor) and not because of terror threats, according to Malacañang. But the day before organizers announced the postponement of the Summit, the United States, Britain, Australia and Japan warned of imminent terror attacks in Cebu. Kabalu said the intelligence reports filed by MILF field commanders were not verified but said it was good the summit had been moved to another date so that security could be further tightened. "It was difficult to verify the threat but we monitored it," he said. Chief Supt. Joel Goltiao, police director of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), admitted that militants identified with the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya, who are operating in the region, remained capable of launching attacks outside Mindanao. The Abu Sayyaf and the JI could easily hire somebody to carry out the attacks for them," he said. But he said the ARMM police had not monitored any plot to disrupt the ASEAN Summit. "We have not monitored reports about terror threats to the ASEAN summit. We have direct contacts with the MILF and those with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF)," Goltiao said. Posted by: Fred 2006-12-11 |
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