|
Captured Abu Sayyaf had chemical weapons guides
POLICE investigating suspected Abu Sayyaf extremists who were allegedly planning a bombing campaign found literature dealing with chemical weapons in their possession, a top intelligence official said Saturday. National Security Advisor Norberto Gonzales played down the likelihood that the suspects had acquired the ability to use chemical weapons when they were arrested in March. Among the items captured from the six suspects in March were "readings on biological and chemical warfare," Gonzales told Agence France-Presse. He said the documents seized were more of the "anarchist handbook" type readily available from certain publishers, rather than confidential military documents. "It doesn't mean they have the capability (for chemical weapons) and are already manufacturing them," he said. The significance of the find is that "it gives us a look into the mental framework of terrorists. What they really want is as many casualties as possible," Gonzales said. Gonzales denied speculation that the Abu Sayyaf or similar regional terror groups, like the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), might have established a chemical or biological weapons facility in the southern Philippines.
Posted by: Dan Darling 2004-05-23 |
|
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=33703 |