Arrested Al-Qaeda suspect links terror group to Philippine Muslim rebels
MANILA June 3 - An Egyptian suspected of Al-Qaeda membership has revealed links
between the terror network and the Philippines' main Muslim separatist group,
the military chief said Thursday.
Hassan Mustafa Bakry entered the Philippines in 1999 with six other
unidentified foreigners and trained local Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)
guerrillas in demolitions in camps on the southern Philippine island of
Mindanao, General Narciso Abaya said.
Bakry, who was arrested in the town of Datu Piang on Tuesday, had even helped
to defend the MILF stronghold Camp Abubakar before it fell to government forces
in 2000, Abaya said.
Manila is observing a ceasefire with the MILF signed in July last year to pave
the way for formal peace talks to be hosted by Malaysia later this year. As
part of the ceasefire, the MILF had vowed to cut ties to all terrorist groups.
Abaya said there would be a further investigation of Bakry's allegations,
adding that this issue had already been raised in a joint ceasefire monitoring
committee between the MILF and the government.
``We have long suspected that there are foreign instructors that were giving
instructions on explosives, demolitions and even ... in the manufacture of RPGs
(rocket-propelled grenades). They do have links to the Al-Qaeda,'' Abaya added.
He expressed hope that Bakry would yield more information after further
questioning.
MILF spokesmen could not be contacted for comment. However, the group has long
maintained it has no links to foreign terror networks such as Al-Qaeda and its
suspected regional affiliate, Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).
The Al-Qaeda network of Saudi-born Osama bin Laden has previously been linked
by Washington and Manila to local Muslim rebel group the Abu Sayyaf, which has
engaged in kidnapping-for-ransom and bombing attacks, mostly targetting
Christians and foreigners in the south, for over a decade.
The JI, believed to be Al-Qaeda's Southeast Asian arm, is also believed to have
links to the MILF.
The southern Philippines is a hotbed of conflict between the Muslim minority,
who regard the south as their ancestral homeland, and the majority Christians
who dominate government and the economy. - AFP
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