ASSOCIATED PRESS, Friday January 18, 2002
Philippines Arrests Indonesian With al-Qaida Links
MANILA, Jan. 18 (AP) -- The Philippines said Friday it has arrested an Indonesian
man who is allegedly part of a group linked to the al-Qaida terror network and is linked
to an explosives stockpile discovered in a southern Philippine city, the government
said Friday.
Fathur Rohman Al-Ghozi was arrested in Manila's Quiapo district Tuesday, several
hours before he was scheduled to fly to Bangkok, Thailand, a government statement
said.
Al-Ghozi, 30, allegedly admitted he was involved in the Dec. 30, 2000 bombings in
metropolitan Manila that killed 22 people, the statement said.
The Philippine statement also said Singaporean authorities suspect Al-Ghozi is one of
the key leaders of the Jemaah Islamiyah. Thirteen members of the group, which also
has cells in neighboring Indonesia and Malaysia, have been arrested in Singapore.
Singapore police said eight of them received training in Afghanistan.
The group allegedly planned to attack U.S. military personnel and naval vessels as
well as the British High Commission, the Israeli Embassy and the Australian High
Commission in Singapore.
Philippine army spokesman Lt. Col. Jose Mabanta said Al-Ghozi also admitted that
he purchased 1,100 kilograms of explosives from contacts in central Cebu city.
On Thursday, police and soldiers raided a house in southern General Santos City
where they unearthed about 50 boxes of explosives weighing about one ton, 300
pieces of detonators, and six rolls of detonating cord each 400 meters long, the army
said.
Police said explosive boosters recovered appeared to have been manufactured in the
Philippines and the detonators were made in India.
Copyright © 2001 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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