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Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Police arrest MILF bomber in southern RP
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Police arrested a member of the country's largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), for allegedly transporting homemade bomb in the troubled Mindanao region, rocked by a spate of bomb attacks last month.
Blah Platon was intercepted before dawn Monday at a police checkpoint on a highway in Tacurong town in Sultan Kudarat province, a known stronghold of the MILF, which is currently negotiating peace with Manila, reports said.
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Police said the man was trained in explosives by the Jemaah islamiya and is also wanted by authorities for kidnapping and has a P175,000 bounty on his head.
The MILF said it is investigating the report. "We have no reports about this, but we will look into this allegations. The MILF is not a terrorist group, but a revolutionary organization. The MILF is not involved in any terrorist activities. We are currently negotiating peace with the government and we are sincere with the talks," MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said.
Authorities were investigating whether Platon was involved in the series of bomb attacks last month in Sultan Kudarat, North Cotabato and Cotabato City that killed at least 14 people.
Police linked the MILF to the bombings and filed criminal charges against rebel chieftain Murad Ebrahim and several of his commanders and Jemaah Islamiya bombers Dulmatin and Umar Patek.
Manila later dropped the charges against the MILF after the rebels warned that linking Ebrahim could scuttle the peace talks.
The MILF said the charges against Ebrahim were politically motivated. (Al Jacinto/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cebu. (November 14, 2006 issue)
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