Nine foreigners blacklisted

Nine foreigners suspected of links with terrorists in Afghanistan were placed in the immigration blacklist yesterday upon request of the United Nations Security Council.

The nine are Ahmed Indris Nareddin, Abdelkader Mahmoud Es Sayed, Khalid al-Fawaz, Abu Hamza al-Masri, Mohamed ben Belgacem Aquadi, Lased ben Hemi, Mohamed ben Qabi, Mokhtar Bouchouxha, and Sami ben Khenais Essid.

Four are believed to be residents of Italy, two of Great Britain, two of Tunisia, and one of Libya.

Immigration Commissioner Andrea Domingo said yesterday the nine are believed to be using several non-government organizations as fronts to funnel money, arms and logistics to al-Qaeda terrorists in Afghanistan and Southeast Asian countries.

"In compliance with the UN resolution, these nine foreigners have been included in the immigration blacklist, hence they are now banned from entering the Philippines via any of our ports of entry," she said.

Domingo said the UN has asked member countries, including the Philippines to ban the nine suspected terrorists from entering their territories.

The immigration bureau got the names of the nine from the Department of Foreign Affairs which received a circular from the UN Security Council’s sanctions committee identifying them as "involved in the al-Qaeda terror group."

The UN also asked the Philippines and other UN-member countries to ban the entry of people belonging to the Pakistan-based Aid Organization of the Ulama, which is also known as Al Rashid Trust.

Aid Organization is also suspected of supplying arms and money to the Taliban and al-Qaeda terrorists in Afghanistan. –Rey Arquiza