Fawaz Zi Ajjur, whom security officials suspect may be an al-Qaida operative, was arrested Saturday in the southern city of Zamboanga after a circuitous journey that took him to Russia, Thailand, Malaysia and before arriving in the Philippines, the officials said. Ajjur did not have a visa and was taken into custody by immigration agents at the Zamboanga airport, Immigration Commissioner Alipio Fernandez Jr. said. He was later allegedly identified by two captured Abu Sayyaf guerrillas as one of the foreign militants who trained them in bomb-making near Patikul town on the southern island of Jolo island a few years ago, a security official said on condition of anonymity. Ajjur strongly denied the allegation and any terrorism links, the official said. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who was present as Ajjur was shown to the media at an air base in Zamboanga, congratulated officials for the arrest. "This is a very important blow against terrorism," Arroyo said, shaking the hands of military and police officials. Regional Police Director Vidal Querol said Ajjur was allegedly involved in unspecified terror plots. As Querol spoke, Ajjur's eyes widened in apparent surprise over the allegations against him, then smiled. Security officials said they suspect Ajjur returned to the Philippines to further train local insurgents or to take part in an attack. Ajjur's route on the way here confused investigators. He started in Russia, flew to Thailand and took a train to Malaysia, where he shuttled between two areas before boarding a plane to Zamboanga, officials said.
| The Russian connection is interesting. Perhaps he was training some Chechens, or they were assisting him as part of a terrorist Lend-Lease-Explode program. |
Intelligence officials say one plan by the Abu Sayyaf, together with the Southeast Asian militant group Jemaah Islamiyah and local Muslim converts, was to stage two separate car bomb attacks during the recent Easter holidays. Troops seized nearly 1,300 pounds of explosives last week from a suburban Manila home based on information from a recently captured suspected Filipino militant.
The Abu Sayyaf, which is on a U.S. terror list, has been blamed for kidnappings for ransom and other deadly attacks, including a ferry bombing that killed 116 people last year in the country's worst-ever terror attack. Its ranks have been gutted by U.S.-backed offensives, but it has reportedly bolstered its loose alliance with Jemaah Islamiyah and local armed groups to widen its reach.