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| Southeast Asia |
| 21 Rajah Soliman members in Filippino crosshairs |
| 2005-10-28 |
| THE MILITARY is running after 21 other members of the Rajah Solaiman Movement (RSM), intelligence officials said, following the pre-dawn arrest on Wednesday of the leader of the radical Islamist group. This developed as President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered security forces on Thursday to finish off remaining terrorist suspects in the country after they captured RSM chieftain Hilarion del Rosario Santos III, alias Ahmad Santos. "Terrorism is an extraordinary crime and a threat to the world and to the country. There are more battles out there to be won,â Arroyo addressed the Armed Forces of the Philippines' top brass at a news conference in Camp Aguinaldo military headquarters. âI encourage you to continue fighting this war against terrorism," she added. Santos and seven of the eight other terror suspects who were arrested with him at a safehouse in Zamboanga City were presented to the media during the said briefing. A child suspect was not presented to the media. The 12-year-old boy is in the care of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Rear Admiral Tirso Danga, deputy chief of staff for intelligence, said investigators have yet to determine if the eight others arrested with Santos are also members of the RSM. The RSM is a group of Islamic converts with alleged links to the Abu Sayyaf and the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), the alleged arms of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network in the Philippines and the Southeast Asian region respectively. A cache of explosives was also seized from Santos' safehouse during the pre-dawn raid on Wednesday. Senga said the materials "could easily be converted into improvised explosive devices." "A close working relationship between the ASG and the RSM has long been suspected and his [Santos'] group has been linked to a number of bombing activities in Metro Manila in coordination with the ASG and the JI," Senga told the President. Before his capture in Zamboanga City, Santos stayed with the group of Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani, Indonesian JI Dulmatin, who allegedly masterminded the 2002 Bali bombings, and another JI member, Umar Patek, Danga said. "He was with Umar Patek all the time in Talayan [Maguindanao] and left for Zamboanga City to seek refuge," he said. Senga said Santos masterminded a foiled Bali-type attack on the restaurant strip in Manila's Malate district during the Lenten holiday using a 1,000-kilogram improvised bomb. "The area [Malate] is where Caucasian people conglomerate for happy times," said Danga. Santos' brother, Daud, was arrested in March in connection with the Lenten bomb plot but was later released on bail. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 good job filipinos! keep it up |
| Posted by: bk 2005-10-28 09:30 |