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Filippinos may raid MILF strongholds
The Philippine president warned on Monday that troops will not hesitate to pursue Jemaah Islamiyah militants in strongholds of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, despite peace talks with the Muslim separatist group. Arroyo said the government "will not allow the peace process to stand in the way of the overriding fight against terrorism,ââ and "will not hesitate to pursue terrorists wherever they are and whenever they are pinpointed to be.ââ Defence Secretary Eduardo Ermita, citing intelligence reports, said on Sunday at least 31 Jemaah members were training MILF guerrillas in bombmaking at Mount Cararao and another location in central Mindanao, in the southern Philippines, that are known to be MILF strongholds. According to one intelligence report, the al-Qaeda terrorist organisation recently gave a Jemaah Islamiyah handler 15,000 dollars for the training, he said. The money was received and disbursed by Indonesian-born Jemaah Islamiyah fugitive Fathur Roman Al-Ghozi before he was gunned down in a shootout with troops last month, he said. "MILF formations will have to stand off these pursuit operations, or actively support us in the same,ââ Arroyo said in a statement. She said she has asked the government peace panel to bring the matter to the MILFâs attention, reminding the rebels of their commitment to purge their ranks of terrorists. National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said the government had accepted the declaration of the MILF that it would not cooperate with Jemaah Islamiyah, and expects the rebels to help the government go after the militants. The MILF has denied links with foreign terrorists. Golez acknowledged individuals within the organisation may have linked up with Jemaah Islamiyah without their leadershipâs approval. He said the government was putting up a 300 million peso (US$5.5 million) reward for information leading to the arrest of terrorists, including Jemaah members, as well as kidnappers. But he admitted the difficulty of running after foreign terrorists who slip across Southeast Asiaâs porous borders, and who may have sleeper cells ready to be activated. The Philippines is tightening security arrangements with neighbors like Malaysia and Indonesia and is enhancing border security in the hunt for terrorists, he said. Golez said a region-wide security alert has been issued for key Jemaah leaders, specifically mentioning Azahari bin Husin, an alleged Malaysian bomb expert educated in Britain. Posted by: Dan Darling 2003-12-02 |
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