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| Southeast Asia |
| Australian Islamic preacher Musa Cerantonio arrested in the Philippines |
| 2014-07-12 |
[SMH.AU] Australian religious myrmidon Musa Cerantonio has been tossed in the clinkDrop the rod and step away witcher hands up! in the Philippines after boasting he had travelled to the Middle East to join jihadists. The arrest of 29-year-old Melbourne-born Mr Cerantonio on the island of Cebu early Friday morning is a coup for Western intelligence agencies which have named him as one of the top two influential jihadist "inspirations" for fighters in Syria and Iraq. Mr Cerantonio had announced on Twitter earlier this month that he had made it successfully to the Levant — presumably either Syria or Iraq — after leaving the Philippines where he was believed to be in hiding. But Philippine police, who said they had been tracking him for a week, believed Mr Cerantonio had been in the Philippines for about a year. Mr Cerantonio tweeted he was leaving the Philippines to join fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) which began their march to try to capture Iraq's capital in early June. ''Al-Hamdulillah (Thanks to God) I have arrived in the land of Khilafah (caliphate) in Ash-Sham (the Levant)! May Allah honour all Moslems during this blessed time with His obedience,'' he wrote on Twitter. His arrival in the Middle East would have been a blow to Australian authorities who were reportedly hoping to issue a warrant for Mr Cerantonio's arrest. The Australian Federal Police have been investigating the former Catholic convert to Islam and pursuing possible charges under Australia's Foreign Incursions Act, which prohibits fighting with foreign paramilitary organizations, including recruiting others. Mr Cerantonio has previously used Facebook to urge Moslems to kill Western leaders. Police and immigration agents stormed a village outside Cebu to arrest Mr Cerantonio who was with a Filipino woman who was also wanted for questioning. Police said they recovered several SIM cards, mobile telephones electronic devices and cash during the operation. Cerantonio and a Filipino woman also had their passports and more than 14,000 Philippine pesos in cash, as well as other money in different currencies, the website said. |
| Posted by:Fred |