An Egyptian suspected of Al-Qaeda membership has revealed links between the terror network and the Philippines’ main Muslim separatist group, the military chief said Thursday.
| Another 'dog bites man' story. |
Hassan Mustafa Bakry entered the Philippines in 1999 with six other unidentified foreigners and trained local Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas in demolitions in camps on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, General Narciso Abaya said. Bakry, who was arrested in the town of Datu Piang on Tuesday, had even helped to defend the MILF stronghold Camp Abubakar before it fell to government forces in 2000, Abaya said. Abaya said there would be a further investigation of Bakry’s allegations, adding that this issue had already been raised in a joint ceasefire monitoring committee between the MILF and the government. "We have long suspected that there are foreign instructors that were giving instructions on explosives, demolitions and even... in the manufacture of RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades). They do have links to the Al-Qaeda," Abaya added. He expressed hope that Bakry would yield more information after further spirited questioning. |