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Top Filipino Terror Suspect Captured Near Airport
[Ynet] Khair Mundos, a top Filipino commander of the al-Qaeda funded Abu Sayyaf...also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya, an Islamist terror group based in Jolo, Basilan and Zamboanga. Since its inception in the early 1990s, the group has carried out bombings, kidnappings, murders, head choppings, and extortion in their uniquely Islamic attempt to set up an independent Moslem province in the Philippines. Abu Sayyaf forces probably number less than 300 cadres. The group is closely allied with remnants of Indonesia's Jemaah Islamiya and has loose ties with MILF and MNLF who sometimes provide cannon fodder... Death Eater group, incarcerated in Manila's international airport Philippine army troops and police on Wednesday captured a top Filipino commander of the Abu Sayyaf Death Eater group who is on the U.S. list of most-wanted turbans and has acknowledged receiving al-Qaeda funds to finance bombings in the country. Philippine security officials said Khair Mundos was arrested in a slum community near Manila's international airport but it was not immediately clear why he was in the capital. The military and police have been hunting him for his alleged involvement in bombings and kidnappings. Mundos is one of the highest-ranking terrorist suspects to be captured in the country in years. He was captured in 2004 but escaped in 2007. Military intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Eduardo Ano described Mundos' capture as a major blow to Abu Sayyaf, where he has served as a top commander, financial and logistical officer, trainer and planner of attacks. The US State Department says Mundos, who also faces money laundering charges, has acknowledged that he arranged the transfer of al-Qaeda funds to the Abu Sayyaf to finance bombings and other attacks in the Philippines. The State Department announced a $500,000 reward in 2009 for the killing or capture of Mundos. U.S. authorities said he has worked as a financier for Abu Sayyaf. He has led Abu Sayyaf Death Eaters on southern Basilan ...Basilan is a rugged, jungle-covered island in the southern Philippines. It is a known stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf, bandidos, and maybe even orcs. Most people with any sense travel with armed escorts... and is known to have links with members of the Southeast Asian krazed killer network Jemaah Islamiyah. Abu Sayyaf, which has an estimated 300 armed fighters split into about six factions, has been blamed for deadly kabooms, ransom kidnappings and beheadings. It was founded in the early 1990s on jungle-clad Basilan, near Zamboanga, a region 860 kilometers (540 miles) south of Manila where American counterterrorism troops have been stationed for more than a decade. Washington has declared Abu Sayyaf a terrorist group and blames it for deadly attacks on American troops and civilians in the southern Philippines. Posted by: trailing wife 2014-06-12 |
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