Philippine authorities have arrested an Arab missionary who is suspected of being a member of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network in the southern island of Mindanao, military officials say. The man, Hassan al-Bakre, 55, was detained by teams of immigration and security officials on suspicion of providing funds to Muslim rebels, said Marine Corps commandant Major-General Emmanuel Teodosio. "He is a suspected member of al Qaeda," Teodosio told reporters on Wednesday in the southern port city of Zamboanga. "We will provide you with more details about the arrest after al-Bakre's initial beating debriefing is completed." Another security officer said al-Bakre was believed to be a Saudi Arabian but authorities were still trying to confirm his nationality. | Arab missionary = cleric. Providing funds = Saudi. |
A spokesman for a Philippine Muslim rebel group said al-Bakre was an Egyptian and he had no connection with them or any other militants. | Him? Nope, don't know him, who we talking about again? |
Al-Bakre is the fifth foreign Muslim missionary arrested recently on suspicion of links to al Qaeda or its southeast Asian wing, Jemaah Islamiah. Teodosio said al-Bakre, who was placed under surveillance a month ago, was arrested on Tuesday in a village known as a stronghold of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Muslim separatist rebels. | Been watching him for a month, keeping track of who he met. |
The military said al-Bakre had made trips to Camp Omar, a rebel enclave in the Mindanao region, three months ago where he taught Arabic, Islamic studies and bomb-making. | Ah, yes, the holy trinity of Islam |
"Based on his own accounts, more than 500 students completed the courses he had supervised," a senior navy official, who declined to be identified, told reporters. He said al-Bakre had identified five Egyptian and seven Indonesian instructors at the MILF camp. | Guess that "de-briefing" is going well |
But a rebel spokesman said al-Bakre was a fisherman who had lived in the area for a long time and was married to a Philippine Muslim woman. "We have nothing to do with him," said the spokesman, Eid Kabalu. "He's not even a missionary." "He's not a terrorist," said Kabalu. "He's a simple-living man. People there know him to be a fisherman, not a bomb-maker." | "Of course, fishing with high explosives is a local tradition." |
Four Turkish missionaries at a state-funded Islamic school in Cotabato City in central Mindanao were arrested two months ago. Teodosio also said authorities were investigating to see if al-Bakre had any links with the Abu Sayyaf Muslim militant group. |