Scenes at the port of Zamboanga City in Southern RP on Tuesday 17 Oct 2006 where security forces seized from a ferry some 200 kilos of French-made ammonium nitrate, main ingredient in the manufacture of homemade bombs. (Mindanao Examiner)(Mindanao Examiner)
ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 17 Oct) - Philippine authorities detained three men linked to the smuggling Tuesday of 200 kilos of high-grade French ammonium nitrate, used by local terrorists in the manufacture of homemade bombs, in the southern port city of Zamboanga, officials said.
Policemen, backed by soldiers, intercepted the shipment from a Filipino ferry, MV Nickel Princely that came from the restive island of Jolo where troops are battling members of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group.
"We have intelligence report about this shipment and security forces had been alerted about the arrival of the ship. We are still investigating whether this cargo is owned by the Abu Sayyaf or Jemaah Islamiya. We also have intelligence reports that a shipment of ammunition is also on its way to Zamboanga from Jolo," Chief Inspector Frank Clavecillas, the port police commander, told the Mindanao Examiner.
Police and military interrogators were questioning the three men, a truck driver and two others who claimed the cargo at the port. "We are still investigating them; about the links to the chemical," said Inspector Abner Santos, of the regional maritime police.
The ammonium nitrate, marked "Made in France," were in eight bags hidden underneath fish crates. Soldiers were spotted searching the ship's cargo bay and had interviewed crew members and several passengers.
It was also the first time that authorities had seized ammonium nitrate that was manufactured in France and smuggled into Jolo. Most of previous shipment of ammonium nitrate were manufactured in Malaysia and Indonesia.
Clavecillas said the amount of ammonium nitrate they seized was enough for several bombs to flatten a small building. "It is enough to make bombs to flatten a small building or bring destruction and kill many innocent people," he said.
Last month, Clavecillas' group also intercepted a ferry loaded with a ton of ammonium nitrate, allegedly owned by the Abu Sayyaf, in the port of Zamboanga . The boat was held just minutes after it arrived from Jolo island. A ferry cargo inspector and four policemen assigned in Jolo were held for questioning in connection with the illegal cargo.
An Abu Sayyaf bomb made from ammonium nitrate was also detonated inside the main police headquarters in Jolo island on Sunday, wounding three people. The military tagged the Abu Sayyaf's urban terrorist group as behind the attack. The group was also implicated in the bombing in March of a Church-run cooperative store that left nine people dead and 20 injured in downtown Jolo.
Three more Abu Sayyaf bombings rocked the southern Philippines last week and killing at least 14 people.
Policemen, backed by soldiers, intercepted the shipment from a Filipino ferry, MV Nickel Princely that came from the restive island of Jolo where troops are battling members of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group.
"We have intelligence report about this shipment and security forces had been alerted about the arrival of the ship. We are still investigating whether this cargo is owned by the Abu Sayyaf or Jemaah Islamiya. We also have intelligence reports that a shipment of ammunition is also on its way to Zamboanga from Jolo," Chief Inspector Frank Clavecillas, the port police commander, told the Mindanao Examiner.
Police and military interrogators were questioning the three men, a truck driver and two others who claimed the cargo at the port. "We are still investigating them; about the links to the chemical," said Inspector Abner Santos, of the regional maritime police.
The ammonium nitrate, marked "Made in France," were in eight bags hidden underneath fish crates. Soldiers were spotted searching the ship's cargo bay and had interviewed crew members and several passengers.
It was also the first time that authorities had seized ammonium nitrate that was manufactured in France and smuggled into Jolo. Most of previous shipment of ammonium nitrate were manufactured in Malaysia and Indonesia.
Clavecillas said the amount of ammonium nitrate they seized was enough for several bombs to flatten a small building. "It is enough to make bombs to flatten a small building or bring destruction and kill many innocent people," he said.
Last month, Clavecillas' group also intercepted a ferry loaded with a ton of ammonium nitrate, allegedly owned by the Abu Sayyaf, in the port of Zamboanga . The boat was held just minutes after it arrived from Jolo island. A ferry cargo inspector and four policemen assigned in Jolo were held for questioning in connection with the illegal cargo.
An Abu Sayyaf bomb made from ammonium nitrate was also detonated inside the main police headquarters in Jolo island on Sunday, wounding three people. The military tagged the Abu Sayyaf's urban terrorist group as behind the attack. The group was also implicated in the bombing in March of a Church-run cooperative store that left nine people dead and 20 injured in downtown Jolo.
Three more Abu Sayyaf bombings rocked the southern Philippines last week and killing at least 14 people.
The bombings were believed in retaliation to the arrest of the Indonesian wife and two children of Jemaah Islamiya bomber, Dulmatin, in Jolo island. Istiada Oemar Sovie and her two boys ages 6 and 8 were arrested after Filipino soldiers pursuing Dulmatin raided a terrorist hideout in Patikul town.
Dulmatin and his companion Umar Patek, who is also hiding in Jolo island are both wanted by Indonesia for the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people and the 2003 JW Marriott hotel bombing in Jakarta.
The military said the Abu Sayyaf headed by Khadaffy Janjalani is protecting Dulmatin and Patek in Jolo island. As many as 31 Jemaah Islamiya militants are believed hiding in the southern Philippines, particularly in Mindanao where the MILF is actively operating, it said.No group or individual claimed responsibility for all the bombings. (Mindanao Examiner)
No comments:
Post a Comment