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Friday, October 08, 2004
Another suspect in twin bombings nabbed in Manila
* Suspect believed to have been trained by Jemaah Islamiyah
* Pre-trial conference and arraignment of five other suspects set on October 13 in Davao City
A MILITANT believed to have been trained by the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and suspected of being involved in deadly bombings in Davao City last year was captured in Manila, police said Thursday.
Intelligence agents identified the suspect only as Mentang, believed to be in his early 30s.
An unlicensed gun was found in his possession when arrested in Paco, Manila.
Five other bombing suspects Jimmy Balulao, Esmael Mamalangkas, Ting Idar, Toto Akmad and Tohami Bagundang are detained in in the city.
The five said they are members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Except for Bagundang, the four other suspects asked to be arraigned and entered a not guilty plea for their pending multiple murder and multiple frustrated murder charges.
The pre-trial conference of the four and Bagundang's arraignment are set on October 13.
Officials said initial investigations showed Mentang might be a member of MILF, which has been negotiating peace with the government.
"Apparently, he is a member of the breakaway faction of the MILF and he claimed to have been trained by JI elements in central Mindanao," a police intelligence official said.
"He has revealed their group's plan to conduct bombing operations in the southern Philippines," the official said without elaborating.
Mentang is suspected of being involved in the bombings of an airport and a wharf in Davao City last year, which killed 39 people and injured 170 others.
The government had charged MILF leaders with the attacks but recently dropped the charges, clearing the way for the resumption of peace talks likely this month.
The MILF has denied any involvement with the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), a regional Islamic militant group blamed for the October 2002 deadly bombings in Bali, Indonesia and a recent car bomb outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta.
Military intelligence officials have repeatedly said that dozens of JI militants are in Southern Mindanao training with MILF units--a claim rebels have denied.
The MILF has been waging a rebellion for the establishment of an independent Islamic state in the southern island of Mindanao since 1978. (AFP)
(October 8, 2004 issue)
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