TODAY'S WORLD

A SUSPECTED member of the Muslim secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has confessed under interrogation that he plotted with the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) regional terrorist group a series of deadly bombings in Metro Manila on Dec. 30, 2000, known locally as the "Rizal Day bombings" that killed 22 people and wounded dozens others, police said Monday.

The alleged confession by Saifulla Yunos confirms the MILF's ties with the JI, a group linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network and blamed for last year's Bali bombings, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Hermogenes Ebdane said at a news conference. Yunos was arrested in the southern city of Cagayan De Oro on May 25 while trying to board a flight to Manila, his face wrapped with bandages and his leg in plaster cast to conceal his identity. His companion, Egyptian Al Gabri Mahmud, was also arrested. It was only on Monday, however, that Yunos was presented to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the media. The handcuffed suspect, dressed in an orange prison shirt and flanked by two guards, stared blankly and was not allowed to talk. "Congratulations to the PNP," Ms Macapagal said when asked if she considered Yunos a prized catch.

Ebdane said Yunos had confessed to being a member of the so-called MILF Special Operations Group tasked with carrying out terrorist attacks. He said Yunos' confession had also been "validated" by convicted Indonesian terrorist Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi, an alleged JI terrrorist who serving a 10-year jail sentence in the Philippines for illegal possession of explosives. "Arrested bombing suspect Saifullah Yunos, also known as Mukhlis Yunos, has confessed to his role in the Rizal Day bombing in 2000," Ebdane said, adding that police are also hunting five other MILF operatives in the bombings. He said the capture of Yunos was a big blow to the joint terrorist operations of the MILF and JI. The MILF has denied any link with Yunos and JI as well as the existence of a special terror unit in its network. Police intelligence chief Jesus Verzosa said JI leaders Hambali and Faiz Abubakar Bafana provided the funds for the Rizal Day bombings, through al-Ghozi. "Based on the revelations of al-Ghozi and Yunos, there was a link between JI and the MILF especially pertaining to training and the Dec. 30, 2000 bombings," Verzosa said, referring to training of Indonesians in Camp Abubakar, the MILF's main stronghold that the Armed Forces has since captured. Police also presented a diagram linking a series of events in 2000 that led to the Rizal Day bombings: the capture of Camp Abubakar; the declaration of jihad by MILF chairman Salamat Hashim; the terrorist planning in Mindanao; the purchase of explosives in Cebu province; and the casing of targets in Metro Manila.

During interrogation, Yunos also allegedly admitted taking part in the recent toppling of power transmission lines in Mindanao and the MILF attacks in Maigo town in Lanao del Norte province. Police said Yunos had been planning to escape abroad with the help of Al Gabri, who was not presented to the media. "On their arrangement, Al Gabri will help Yunos seek employment abroad later on," Verzosa said. "They knew each other; they had meetings before they traveled (to Manila)." Police are still trying to establish Al Gabri's links to international terror groups. The PNP, however, filed charges against Al Gabri for violation of the country's immigration laws, saying he was not carrying proper travel documents when he was arrested.

Reports from TJ Burgonio and Inquirer wires.