AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, Tuesday January 22, 8:05 PM
Indonesian suspect key link to al-Qaeda in Philippines: military
MANILA, Jan 22 (AFP) -
A suspected Indonesian terrorist arrested here last week is believed to be the main
recruiter of Filipino members for Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, an army
spokesman said Tuesday.
Security officials last week nabbed Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi after a tip off from
Singapore. His arrest led to the arrest of four Filipino Muslim accomplices and the
seizure of an explosives cache in the southern city of General Santos.
Al-Ghozi is believed to be a top member of the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiya,
described by Philippine authorities as an Islamic "terror group operating in Malaysia,
Singapore and Indonesia."
"He is the main man here. This guy, I would say, is in charge and the link of the other
(terrorist groups in other) countries to the Philippines," army spokesman Lieutenant
Colonel Jose Mabanta said.
"Within the next few days we will be filing charges," against al-Ghozi, he added.
Mabanta also assured the Muslim populat! ion in the southern Philippines the military
will not make arbitrary arrests. "Our brother Muslims have nothing to fear if they don't
have any involvement in this," he said.
Al-Ghozi's arrest came amid an intensified crackdown of terrorist groups in Southeast
Asia and the arrival of US troops for joint trainings in the southern Philippines against
the Muslim Abu Sayyaf group.
The Abu Sayyaf is a small group of Muslim gunmen both Manila and Washington say
is linked to al-Qaeda.
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