ZAMBOANGA CITY, 29 August 2006 — Three suspected rebels alleged on a bombing mission to Manila were captured by security forces as they tried to board a ferry in the southern Philippines, officials said yesterday.
Soldiers and policemen arrested the trio on Sunday while about to board the Super Ferry at the Pollok port in Parang town of Maguindanao province, west of Zamboanga.
Troops found three improvised explosive devices from the suspects, according to army Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, a spokesman for the 6th Infantry Division.
He said civilian informants who had knowledge of a supposed terror plot led security forces in the operation to arrest the men.
“The informants provided us intelligence and helped us arrest the three men, who were allegedly on a bombing mission in Manila,” he said.
Other security sources said the three men were members of the bombing experts of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front’ (MILF) special operations group.
The MILF said it is investigating whether the men were its members.
“We still don’t know, but we are investigating the reports and if these are true then we will severely punish any rogue members of the MILF.”
“It is still unclear really whether they are MILF members or not or only out to sabotage the peace talks,” he said.
Kabalu assured the government that the MILF is strictly observing the truce it signed in 2004.
Authorities were also investigating whether the trio had links with the Abu Sayyaf group, tied to Jemaah Islamiyah.
Extremists have previously bombed the 10,000-ton Super Ferry 14 off Manila Bay while it was heading for Bacolod in the central Philippines on Feb. 27, 2004.
More than 100 passengers from the 900 people onboard were killed when a fire spread to the decks.
The Abu Sayyaf group claimed responsibility soon after the incident, but the government initially dismissed the claim as a “propaganda ploy.”
In March, however, a group of Abu Sayyaf members were arrested over the incident, including one man who allegedly confessed to planting the bomb.
The latest arrest coincided with earlier warnings of bombings during the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 in the United States. Authorities said the Abu Sayyaf would bomb civilian targets in Manila. The group has been blamed the Abu Sayyaf for some of the worst terror attacks in the country.
