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Thursday, October 27, 2005
Suspected terror leader, 6 others arrested
By Al Jacinto
AT LEAST seven people, including the alleged leader of a terror group tied to Jemaah Islamiya and the Abu Sayyaf, were arrested early Wednesday after security forces stormed their hideout in the southern Philippine port city of Zamboanga, officials said.
Security officials paraded the captured leader, Hilarion Santos, a Christian convert who allegedly heads the radical group called the Rajah Soliman Movement, which is blamed by the military for the series of bombings in Manila since 2000.
The military also implicated Santos in the kidnapping of 21 mostly Asian and Western holiday-goers in Sipadan island resort off Sabah, Malaysia, in 2000, and a foiled bombing in Manila in 2003.
Officials said security forces were also tracking down Sam Hamdol, a policeman assigned in Jolo Island and an alleged member of the group, who was able to escape during the raid on their hideout before sunrise.
Southern Philippines military chief Lieutenant Edilberto Adan said among those captured were Santos' wife Narumruja Amdal and their son. A military report said another woman was also arrested.
Adan said the Rajah Soliman group is the most radical group next to the Abu Sayyaf, and that the group has cells across the country.
"We have established that Santos and his Rajah Soliman group are tied to Jemaah Islamiya and the Abu Sayyaf. There is an ongoing operation to track down other members of the group hiding in the southern Philippines," Adan said.
He said the raiders seized at least 49 rounds of anti-tank rockets and ammunition and an M-16 automatic rifle fitted with a silencer. A computer and radio sets were also seized from the group's hideout.
Santos told military interrogators that he arrived in Zamboanga City after hiding from the military in Talayan town in Maguindanao province, where his group was allegedly protected by Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels.
The MILF strongly denied it provided sanctuary to Santos or any of his followers.
"The MILF will not provide any sanctuary to terrorists or those who are advocating terrorism. The MILF has repeatedly denounced terrorism and we are helping the government fight terrorism," rebel spokesman Eid Kabalu said.
He was quick to say that his group would investigate the military's claim. "We will work closely with the Philippine government and investigate this allegation," he said.
The commander of a military anti-terror task force, Colonel Edgardo Gidaya, said civilians tipped off the authorities about the presence of suspicious men that led to the capture of Santos and his followers.
"The public is now more vigilant and citizens are playing an active role in helping authorities by providing information about terrorists," he said.
Philippine Army chief Lieutenant General Hermogenes Esperon ordered troops to stay vigilant and intensify the campaign against terrorism.
"We should always remain alert and vigilant and intensify our operation against terrorism and other threats to our security, like the communist insurgency," Esperon said.
The military doubled its security in the southern Philippines because of increasing threats of attacks by either the Abu Sayyaf or the Jemaah Islamiya, believed to be the al-Qaeda's affiliate in Southeast Asia.
Troops are hunting down two senior Jemaah Islamiya bomb-makers Dulmatin and Umar Patek, believed to be hiding in the southern Philippines. The duo masterminded the 2002 Bali bombings that killed more than 200 people.
Washington tagged the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya and the New People's Army as foreign terrorist organizations, along with the Communist Party of the Philippines and its political arm the National Democratic Front. (Sun.Star Zamboanga/Sunnex)
(October 27, 2005 issue)
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