| Lieutenant Col. Daniel Lucero, Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman, said Monday that the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) has weakened due to continuous arrests of its leaders. Lucero, in an interview with the ABS-CBN News Channel, said the group has whittled down to 400 troops from 1,200. "Some Abu Sayyaf men were captured because of tips from some ASG members who betrayed their leaders maybe because of the bounty being offered by the government," he said. He denied reports that the ASG is training new members to become suicide bombers, saying that the group is only out to raise money through kidnap-for-ransom activities. He added that the ASG's link to the militant group Jema'ah Islamiyah has yet to be proven. He added that the communist New People's Army is still the country's biggest security threat and that the group is actively campaigning for some candidates and party-list groups. |