Philippine Army hails conviction of 3 terrorists

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Jan. 23, 2009) – The Philippine military praised the conviction Friday of three jailed Filipino terrorists who were found guilty for the series of deadly bombings in the country’s capital Manila.

The three - Mukhlis Yunos, Abdul Fatak Paute and Mamasao Naga – were sentenced Judge Cielito Grulla to 20 years for the December 30, 2000 bombings that killed 22 people and left more than 100 others wounded.

The military said Yunos, a member of the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and the others had links with the Indonesian militant Jemaah Islamiya.

“The conviction is a victory of the peace-loving Filipinos. This is a victory in the fight against terrorism,” Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, a regional army spokesman, told the Mindanao Examiner.

Television footages of the trio showed no emotions on their faces, but one of them later shouted “Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar” or “God is great”, as security men escorted them away from the packed court room in Manila heavily guarded by police commandos and soldiers.

Some of those near the three men shouted back “mabuhay ang hustisya, mabuhay ang hustisya” which translates to “long live justice”.

A fourth bomber, Indonesian Fathur Roman al-Ghozi, later escaped from a police prison in Manila, but was killed in a clash with government forces in Mindanao where he had been tracked down.

Filipino leader Gloria Arroyo also praised the decision of the court. (Mindanao Examiner)

Al-Ghozi Associate Arrested In Southern Philippines

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 17 Mar) – Police and military forces arrested an escaped associate of slain Jemaah Islamiya bomber Fathur Rohman Al-Ghozi in the southern island of Basilan.

Police said Omar Opik Lasal also known as Merang Abante was nabbed Friday in Isabela City.

Al-Ghozi was one of the most skilled bomb makers belonging to Jemaah Islamiah, a regional terror network closely associated with Al Qaeda.

Lasal escaped from a police detention in Manila together with Al-Ghozi and Abdulmukim Edris in 2003 and was recaptured later in Basilan and had been detained in the Southern Command in Zamboanga City.

Al-Ghozi and Edris were separately killed in an alleged firefight in Mindanao the same year. It was unknown why authorities freed Lasal, who has been implicated in the 2000 kidnapping of California man Jeffrey Craig Schilling in Jolo island.

Lasal is allegedly facing a string of murder and kidnapping charges in Basilan.

Unidentified politicians were reportedly working for the release of Lasal, a senior army official told the Mindanao Examiner on Saturday.

Lasal, the official said, played a key role in the killing of Al-Ghozi, who had a $5 million reward on his head. He did not elaborate. Al-Ghozi admitted involvement in bombings that killed 22 people in Manila on Dec. 30, 2000.

Al-Ghozi was a key link between several militant groups. In addition to his ties with Jemaah Islamiya and al-Qaeda, he trained terrorists from all over the Islamic world in bomb-making at a camp in the southern Philippines allegedly run by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a rebel group seeking independence for the southern Philippines.

Al-Ghozi was closely associated with Riduan Isamuddin, also known as Hambali, a top Al Qaeda operative and Jemaah Islamiah leader who was arrested in Thailand.

He also admitted detonating a car bomb in August 2000 at the Philippine ambassador's residence in Jakarta, which seriously wounded the ambassador and killed two others. (Mindanao Examiner)