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PNP hunting 23 Indon JI operatives in South Posted 02:57am (Mla time) Feb 01, 2005 By Christian Esguerra Inquirer News Service Editor's Note: Published on page A3 of the Feb. 1, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer AUTHORITIES are hunting 23 Jemaah Islamiyah members believed hiding in central Mindanao, after discounting their threat to the country. The Philippine National Police isn't worried about the JI operatives -- all Indonesians -- since they are "stranded" in the country and are practically incapable of launching terrorist attacks, according to PNP intelligence director Robert Delfin. "They receive no funding, so how can they move?" Delfin said in an interview with reporters. "Right now, they're more concerned with hiding from both the police and the military than attacking." The military had earlier pegged the number of JI members in Mindanao at 40. Police could not explain, however, how the number went down to 23. What is clear is the terrorists are holed up on Mt. Kararaw, at the boundary of the provinces of Maguindanao and Lanao, which is considered a stronghold of the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Delfin said the 23 operatives had lost contact with their leaders in Indonesia following the arrest of key JI leaders. Among these were Zulkifli, who was arrested in Malaysia several months ago, and Taufek Refke, the group's alleged finance officer, who was caught in Mindanao early last year. The arrests cut the flow of funds from Indonesia to the JI cell in Mindanao, Delfin said. The JI, the Southeast Asia-based affiliate of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist network, maintains a "mantique" or cluster of operations that includes Malaysia and Indonesia, its country of origin. Mindanao is part of the cluster, being primarily a training ground for prospective bombers, intelligence officials said. In December 2003, at least 10 JI bombers reportedly graduated from training facilities in MILF territories. The MILF has denied the allegation. If the 23 Indonesian terrorists were planning an attack, Delfin said, they could only do so "in coordination with local terrorists." "They're dependent on their local contacts," he said, referring to the Abu Sayyaf terror group and renegade MILF members. Tracker teams from the PNP Intelligence Group and the Armed Forces of the Philippines are now conducting separate operations to arrest the 23 Indonesians, Delfin said. "They're scattered, that's why the military is bombing them," he added. On Friday, officials said five Islamic militants, including at least one JI member, were believed killed in a military air strike on their hideout in a Maguindanao marshland the previous day. Army spokesperson Col. Franklin del Prado said among those believed to have been in the area were Abu Sayyaf chief Khadaffy Janjalani and at least three Indonesian JI members, including Dulmatin, who allegedly played a key role in the Bali bombings. Dulmatin was believed killed in the raid. With reports from Inquirer wires [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Take a look at donorschoose.org, an excellent charitable web site for anyone who cares about public education! http://us.click.yahoo.com/_OLuKD/8WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
