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| Southeast Asia |
| 50 JI terrorists graduate, dispatched for operations |
| 2005-08-17 |
| A top Army official in North Cotabato has confirmed reports that some 50 newly graduates of Jemaah Islamiah (JI), a terrorist group, have been sent to some big cities in Mindanao for test missions. Col. Ruperto Pabustan, commanding officer of the Army’s 602nd Infantry Brigade, said that the JI graduates were responsible for series of bombing incidents that recently rocked the cities of Koronadal, Cotabato, and Zamboanga. "These bombings were actually part of their test missions," said Pabustan in an interview. The JI, reports said, has links with international terrorist al-Qaeda network. The group has also established its headquarters in Mindanao where they conduct training and groundwork for terrorist attacks, Pabustan said. However, he did not divulge the location of the training site. "Sooner, we’ll be able to identify this area, and we have already armed ourselves to pursue them," he said. Meanwhile, Army Col. Felipe Tabas of the Task Group Kutawato denied reports that it was the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that trained the JI members. Tabas also disputed reports that the MILF was behind the series of kidnapping and other lawless activities in Maguindanao and other areas in Central Mindanao. "May mga ‘scalawags’ among MILF that sympathize with the kidnap-for-ransom groups and JI but they were not part of their operations," said Tabas in a press conference held in Cotabato City. He said that the MILF has worked with the Army in their fight against lawless and terrorist groups in Mindanao. "It’s not true that the MILF staged these lawlessness. In fact, tumutulong sila para mahanap namin ang aming mga kaaway (they are helping us in finding our enemies)," Tabas said. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |