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| Southeast Asia |
| Filipino police arrest alleged bombing suspects |
| 2003-06-18 |
| Police in the Philippines have arrested four suspects - including three Indonesians - for allegedly planning bomb attacks in the country's south. The suspects are being questioned about possible links with Jemaah Islamiah (JI), which has been blamed for the Bali bombing. The men allegedly attempted to bomb sites in two cities in the southern Philippines. The Philippine military claims a loose alliance between JI and local rebels. Police say the suspects were found carrying an improvised bomb and some explosive materials. Immigration authorities say Indonesian and Pakistani members of JI are hiding in the southern Philippines to train local Islamic militants. Kind of puts a crimp on this statement from the MILF: The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Wednesday denied claims that the group had trained Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militants on trial for deadly bombings in Indonesia. The MILF also rejected an allegation that the group had contacts with JI leader Abu Bakar Bashir, a detained Indonesian cleric on trial in Jakarta. "We deny any involvement or any contact between the two organizations," MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said on ABS-CBN television. Kabalu said there was no need to have contact with JI members because their objectives were different. "Yes, our objectives are different. We want an islamic state in the Phillipines, and they want a islamic state in Indonesia. See, we have nothing in common." |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #1 Bravo to the Phillipine Gov't. These guys (apologies to Prez Arroyo) are, easily, our most effective, dependable, and productive allies in the WoT. If only Frawnce (not to mention the rest of Old Europe) had a real Prez... well, on second thought, with their populace(s) happily swallowing a pathetic self-aggrandizing rear-view-mirror view of everything, it couldn't happen. Cast in amber and centuries out of date. |
| Posted by: PD 2003-06-19 03:30:25 |