ZAMBOANGA CITY, 13 October 2003 — The Jemaah Islamiyah terror-bomber who escaped from prison in Manila was killed yesterday in the southern Philippines, the military said.
Fathur Rohman Al-Ghozi was slain late yesterday during a clash with military and police forces near the town of Pigkawayan in South Cotabato province, said Lt. Gen. Rodolfo Garcia, the military vice chief-of-staff.
“It is confirmed, but details will follow,” Garcia told reporters.
He said President Gloria Arroyo will make an announcement today.
Al-Ghozi was serving a 17-year jail sentence for illegal possession of explosives when he escaped on July 14 along with two Filipino Muslim militants from a jail inside Camp Crame, the national police headquarters in metropolitan Manila.
While on trial, Al-Ghozi confessed to taking part in a deadly string of bombings in Manila in December 2000 that killed 22 people.
Authorities said he planned the bombings along with Hambali, also known as Riduan Isamuddin, JI’s operations chief who is now in US custody.
Al-Ghozi had been the subject of a massive manhunt since his escape with two Abu Sayyaf extremists, Abdulmikim Edris and Omar Lapik Lasal.
Edris was killed in a supposed shootout with government troops in Lanao del Norte province in August, while Lasal was captured last week in Zamboanga Sibugay province.
Despite the reports of Al-Ghozi’s death, some senior officers were cautious about yesterday’s gunbattle in Pigcawayan town on the southern island of Mindanao.
“We’re still verifying it’s Al-Ghozi,” Maj. Gen. Generoso Senga, the army commander in Central Mindanao, told Reuters. “We don’t want to make mistakes.”
Senga said yesterday’s operation was mainly led by the police, operating with a small contingent of soldiers.
Al-Ghozi’s reported death came just six days before US President George W. Bush visits Manila.
In recent days the Philippines has reinforced security at possible targets ahead of Bush’s visit.
Bush, who counts the Philippines as one of his main allies in the war on terror, will spend eight hours in Manila on Oct. 18 on his way to an Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Bangkok.
Australia has said the Jemaah Islamiyah could increasingly turn its attention to the Philippines because it offered many targets such as Western-style clubs, hotels and multinational businesses.
JI is blamed for the nightclub bombings that killed 202 people on the Indonesian island of Bali a year ago.
The Jemaah Islamiyah, an alleged branch of the Al-Qaeda terror network, is said to be plotting to establish an Islamic caliphate in Southeast Asia, including the southern Philippines, Southern Thailand, Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia. (Additional input from agencies).
