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| Southeast Asia |
| Terror groups seeking refuge in Mindanao |
| 2005-10-12 |
| In mid-2004, two men who later pleaded guilty to carrying out a Manila bus bombing reportedly met Khaddafy Janjalani, the leader of the Philippinesâ Abu Sayyaf militant group, and a member of Indonesiaâs Jemaah Islamiah. They then received training in bomb-making on Mindanao island in the southern Philippines,, according to police officials. According to a police report of testimony by Gamal Baharan, one of the Manila bomb suspects, the meeting and training was at a base of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the countryâs largest Muslim rebel group. The close relationship between the groups, which has sprung up in recent years, underlines concerns after the latest bombing on the Indonesian resort of Bali that Islamic militants are finding common cause and a haven in Mindanaoâs rugged mountains and dense jungles. âDelineations are becoming particularly difficult as the groups increasingly work together,â Zachary Abuza, an expert on Southeast Asian Islamic militancy, wrote in a recent report. âIncreasingly, Mindanao is seen (by Jemaah Islamiah) not just as a rear base of operations, but as a potential centre of operations.â Abuza said there were about 25 known Jemaah Islamiah militants based in Mindanao, many as trainers in Milf camps. That includes Dulmatin, a senior Jemaah Islamiah member suspected of helping to plan and execute the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings on whom the United States last week raised its bounty to $10 million. Jemaah Islamiah has also been blamed for suicide bombings on October 1 in Bali that killed 23 people. While the Milf leadership denies having links with radical groups, individual commanders sympathetic to Jemaah Islamiahâs cause and disillusioned with their leadersâ peace talks with the government are believed to have no such scruples. Analysts say the Abu Sayyafâs return to its Islamist roots in recent years after a kidnapping-for-ransom spree has helped it strengthen ties with Indonesian militants and the Milf, which had previously criticised the groupâs activities as un-Islamic. âI would say thereâs a lot more cooperation with Abu Sayyaf than there was a few years ago,â said Sidney Jones, Southeast Asia project director for the International Crisis Group. Jones said Jemaah Islamiah was only one of several Indonesian Islamic militant groups whose members were receiving training and pooling resources with Philippine jihadists. âItâs a very confused picture in terms of the organisational affiliations of the people.â Milf-controlled areas have provided a rare refuge for Jemaah Islamiah in the region, especially following a crackdown on the group and arrests of senior members after the first Bali bombing. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #2 Terror groups seeking refuge in Mindanao In other words, friendly territory. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-10-12 12:26 |
| #1 major can of worms |
| Posted by: bk 2005-10-12 11:41 |