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| Southeast Asia |
| 4 JI bombers captured in Cotabato |
| 2005-09-29 |
| Four suspected members of a terrorist group carrying an improvised bomb were arrested in North Cotabato province, police said Thursday. Senior Inspector Raulito Suyom, Pigcawayan town police chief, said the four suspected members of the Southeast Asian terror network Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) were on their way to Cotabato City aboard a passenger jeepney (minibus) when they were intercepted at a checkpoint at 7 a.m. Wednesday. The seized bomb was fitted with a cell phone as a trigger device. Suyom identified the suspects as Kasan Datukon, 27, Abdulsalam Abu, 30, Suhuddin Danda, 25, Omar Bantas, 29, all of Pagcawayan town. The suspects were interrogated at the 6th Infantry Division headquarters in Maguindanao province. Major General Agustin Dema-ala, division commander, said the bomb was made from a 60 mm mortar round. He said the group could be part of an alleged plot by 10 JI suicide bombers, who are reportedly scouring Mindanao and Metro Manila for targets. "We are linking this to the JI plot. It [seized explosive] will surely be used for a terrorist attack," Dema-ala said in a phone interview with INQ7.net. The suspects are now in the custody of the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in the area, he said. Investigators suspect that the group was about to drop off the bomb to their cohorts in Pigcawayan, Dema-ala added. Quoting Suyom's interview with DXMS radio, the Associated Press reported that Datukon placed the bomb inside a bag on the floor at the front seat of the jeepney that was headed to Cotabato city. The suspect later offered his seat to an old man and transferred to the roof of the vehicle with other passengers, a practice common in remote areas where transportation is difficult, Suyom said. The bag was discovered at the checkpoint and the driver immediately pointed to Datukon as the owner. The device was rigged to explode with a call from another cell phone carried by Datukon, Suyom said. Dema-ala believes Datukon is a member or a recruit of the al-Qaeda-linked extremist Abu Sayyaf group and trained in bomb-making by operatives of JI, which is based in Indonesia and is also active in the southern Philippines. He told the Associated Press that the bomb was similar to other improvised explosive devices discovered or set off in several southern cities, and traced back to the Abu Sayyaf. The military has been conducting a massive manhunt for Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani on Mindanao. The JI has allegedly carried out terrorist attacks in the country with the Abu Sayyaf group, including the Valentine's Day bombings in the cities of Makati, Davao, and General Santos earlier this year. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 Fry 'em. I like mine original, but some may like 'em crunchy. Either way, country fry 'em. |
| Posted by: Rosemary 2005-09-29 08:18 |