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| Southeast Asia |
| Bali terrorists 'in Philippines' |
| 2005-06-11 |
| TWO terrorists wanted in connection with the 2002 Bali bomb blast may be on the run in the southern Philippines, a US thinktank believes. The private sector intelligence group Stratfor, said reports from the Philippines indicated the two members of the terror group Jemaah Islamiah (JI) had been sighted in a mountainous region bordering the southern Muslim-dominated provinces of Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur on the island of Mindanao. Pitono, also known as Dulmatin, and Umar Patek, are both sought in connection with a series of attacks against Western targets in Indonesia, including the October 2002 Bali nightclub bombing that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians. Indonesian police, working closely with the Australian Federal Police, have succeeded in tracking down many of the terrorists responsible for the Bali and other bombings. But some of the key plotters remain on the run. Among them are Pitono and Patek plus another pair, Azahari Husin and Noordin Mohammad Top who are believed to still be in Indonesia. Reports from the Philippines indicate the members of Muslim separatist group the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are cooperating with the Philippines government in the hunt for Pitono and Patek, plus eight other alleged JI members. Stratfor said MILF was now engaged in peace talks with the government and there had been a ceasefire since 2002. It cited an MILF spokesman who said the two JI militants were in contact with Islamist militant group Abu Sayyaf and had met its chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani. "While Abu Sayyaf has come under increasing pressure from Manila since 2002, when the US sent aid and advisers to the Philippines as part of its war against militant jihadists, the Islamist group has degenerated into a band of criminals, often undertaking kidnap-for-ransom operations," Stratfor said. "In response to this pressure, Abu Sayyaf has sought alliances with JI and some MILF members opposed to peace with Manila." This coincides with renewed travel warnings to Indonesia released this week by Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs. Stratfor said the Australian warning was extremely vague, saying only that attacks could happen anywhere, anytime and against any Western target in Indonesia. Indonesian National Police General Dai Bachtiar downplayed the warning, saying he had no specific information. "Despite Jakarta's dismissal of an immediate threat to Western interests in Indonesia, however, Western governments appear to agree that a serious threat exists in the region," it said. "The recent bombing on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi indicates that the infrastructure is in place for planning attacks and transporting explosives. "With skilled bombmakers Pitono and Top on the loose along with high-level operators Patek and Husin, the threat to Westerners in Southeast Asia is very real." |
| Posted by:Spavirt Pheng6042 |