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Monday, April 26, 2004
Mindanao now 'safer' with arrest of JI men
By Ben O. Tesiorna
DAVAO CITY -- Mindanao has become safer after authorities arrested last week four suspected terrorists reported to be behind the plot to bomb three major cities in Mindanao this month, the military said Sunday.
The four--identified as Sammy Abdul Gani, Datu Puti Ungka, Montazzer Ismael and Badrodin Dalungan--were presented to President Arroyo during her visit in Davao City Sunday.
Arroyo, in a press briefing at the Davao International Airport, lauded Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, the police and military for the arrest of the suspects and for preventing new attacks in the city.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), however, claimed three of the four suspects, Gani, Ungka and Ismael, are MILF regulars, not operatives of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terror network, and demanded their release.
"With their arrest, Mindanao has become safer at this point in time," said Major General Roy Kyamko, Southern Command chief, adding that authorities are further conducting operations that might lead to more arrests.
He said the suspects "are well-financed" by the JI, which has been linked to Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda group, and had been involved in several attempts to sow terror in the country.
Recovered from the suspects were four kilos of trinitrotolouene (TNT), 20 rounds of rocket-propelled grenades, 10 rounds of 81mm mortars, pistols, hand grenades and improvised explosive device.
Abdulgani, allegedly the team leader, and Ungca were arrested at a checkpoint in Tabiran, Datu Odin Sinsuat Friday after a month of eluding security forces. Ismael and Dalungan were arrested in follow-up operations.
They were caught after a brief chase by military intelligence operatives near the town of Tacurong in Mindanao.
Attempts thwarted
Kyamko said the suspects attempted to smuggle several rounds of 60mm mortars into Davao City on April 19, but were thwarted by strict security measures in the city.
He said the suspects then plotted to bomb Cagayan de Oro City but again failed to carry out their plan due to security measures being implemented by police and military authorities.
Kyamko said the same situation happened when the suspects attempted to infiltrate Iligan City.
"After Iligan, the suspects then withdrew via Bukidnon and proceeded to Cotabato City. It was in Tacurong City that our trackers then spotted the suspects while attempting to enter General Santos City and they were intercepted by our men," Kyamko told Arroyo during a briefing at the Davao International Airport Sunday.
The JI has been blamed for a string of deadly attacks in the Southeast Asian region, including the bombings in Bali, Indonesia in 2002 that killed more than 200 people.
According to Arroyo, the four had confessed during interrogation that they were involved in a car bomb attack on an airport in the south in February last year and a sports gymnasium this year that left six dead and 39 others wounded.
"I was informed that this group is directly being financed and supervised by a top Jemaah Islamiyah personality," Arroyo said. "They were also involved in several foiled attempts to bomb different targets in Mindanao."
Military sources said earlier that the suspects had confessed to being associates of Indonesian Taufek Refqe, a top JI liaison officer operating in the south who was arrested in October last year.
Refqe's arrest had led to a follow-up raid on a suspected JI hideout in Cotabato that turned up bomb-making equipment and instructions related to biological weapons, though no such weapons were found.
MILF regulars
Arroyo said the four were nearly captured early this month when they attempted to plant bombs on two passenger ships in the south, but they had managed to escape.
She also warned terrorist groups that their "remaining days are over."
But the separatist MILF, the country's main Muslim insurgent group negotiating peace with Manila, said three of those in custody were regular members of the group and did not belong to JI.
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu called for their release and warned the arrests could affect peace talks with the government being brokered by Malaysia.
Kabalu said the arrest of the three went against a peace pact MILF signed with Manila, with negotiations for a peace accord being brokered by Malaysia.
"We are seeking the release of the three MILF fighters, because this is in violation of the ceasefire agreement," he said.
Last month, government claimed to have prevented a "Madrid-level" bomb attack in Manila with the arrest of several suspected Abu Sayyaf militants who allegedly plotted to bomb commuter trains, malls and other public places.
But critics have said that the stepped up crackdown could be a part of Arroyo's campaign to show her credentials as a tough ally of the US-led global war on terrorism. Arroyo is seeking a second term in the May 10 polls. (With Sunnex Luzon/AFP)
(April 26, 2004 issue)
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