Hunt for Zamboanga blast suspects intensifies

Security forces in Zamboanga City have intensified the hunt for the leader of the bombers allegedly responsible for the recent attacks on a shopping district and a Roman Catholic shrine in the city.

Police and military sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they believe that the suspect, identified as Amilhamsa Ajijul – alias Alex Alvarez – was still in the city hiding with some followers.

A ring of security was tightened around Zamboanga to prevent the suspect from escaping, sources said, adding that a boat, which authorities believed the suspects were planning to use for their getaway, has been seized.

Five Abu Sayyaf members who were arrested last Tuesday near Zamboanga City tagged Ajijul as their leader. The five – identified as Abduljamin Asanul, Buyongan Bongkak, Bas Ismael Janihim, Madznul Ladja and Rajak Sagomayan – were indicted yesterday in Zamboanga.

Because of a lack of a law against terrorism, the five were charged only with illegal possession of firearms and explosives, both bailable offenses. Bail for the suspects was put at P200,000 each.

President Arroyo earlier urged Congress to pass an anti-terrorism bill that would enable police to hold suspects for longer periods without charges for questioning and charge suspects with heavier non-bailable offenses in court.

"If there is anyone who posts a bail bond for the accused, I would recommend to the (police) to put him under surveillance," chief state prosecutor Jovencito Zuño of the Department of Justice (DOJ) said. "This might enable the (police) to discover other members of the group."

Zuño said the accused bombers might have no trouble posting bail if their group is well-financed as expected.

Once the case is assigned to a judge, Zuño said the DOJ will immediately ask the court to issue an order barring them from leaving the country and evade prosecution. "I believe we have an air-tight case against the suspects," he said.

Meanwhile, the military in Zamboanga said one of the suspects, Bas Ismael Janihim, has been tagged as a trusted henchman of top Abu Sayyaf leader Khaddafy Janjalani by some former Abu Sayyaf hostages.

The suspect admitted delivering the bombs in the shopping mall and shrine blasts.

The Abu Sayyaf had been linked by Philippine and US authorities to the al-Qaeda network of terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden. The group is considered a terrorist organization by Washington for the kidnapping and murder of US nationals last year.

Commissioner Andrea Domingo of the Bureau of Immigration said the group has reportedly forged ties with Indonesia-based al-Qaeda ally Jemaah Islamiyah, one of the main suspects in a series of bombings that rocked Zamboanga and Metro Manila in a month.

Officials said the five suspects admitted taking part in the bombings of two shopping malls last Oct. 17 that killed seven people and wounding 162 others, and a blast at a Roman Catholic shrine three days later that killed a Philippine Marine and wounded 18 other people.

Police said the suspects also told police that their colleagues were behind an Oct. 2 blast in Zamboanga that killed an American soldier and three Filipinos.

The five were caught making bombs when police stormed their hideout near Zamboanga City.

Police found a baggage claim tag from one of the two bombed shopping malls at the suspects’ hideout. Also confiscated from the men were two .45 caliber pistols, a diagram on making car bombs, nails, camouflage uniforms, a bottle of gasoline and a receipt for the bicycle pedicab believed used in the shrine bombing.

Other items confiscated as evidence include a crucifix and religious pamphlets that police said were used for the shrine bombing operation, pocket-size copies of the Koran, car registration papers, a bicycle tool, a map of Zamboanga and unspecified white powder in plastic bags that police were testing as a suspected component in bomb-making.

A car bomb – a rigged Toyota sedan – was also found parked near the hideout hours after the arrests.

Zamboanga has been a target for attacks after it served as a hub of a joint US-Philippine military campaign earlier this year against the Abu Sayyaf.