Authorities looking for three suicide bombers

The terrorist watch has been ratcheted up.

Joint police and military teams are now on the look-out for three suspected terrorists in the wake of intelligence reports that suicide bombers are in Manila to attack American and Israeli targets.

Sources in the intelligence community confirmed that overt and covert operations are now being implemented by the government’s special units to determine the whereabouts and identities of the suspected suicide bombers.

"We are tracking them down right now," the source said. He added that the joint law enforcement teams are in the process of verifying the reports about the presence of these bombers in Manila.

Information disclosed to The STAR showed the suspected bombers are members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Abu Sayyaf.

The three suspected bombers were reportedly hand-picked by the foreign backers of both the MILF and the Abu Sayyaf.

The reports of the presence of suicide bombers in Manila came in the wake of the growing worldwide opposition to the war in Iraq.

Over the past week, police and immigration authorities have detained and questioned over a dozen foreigners of Middle Eastern origin in a crackdown meant to prevent sympathy attacks from local and international terrorists.

The foreigners are being held in the Philippine National Police Task Force Sanghali detention cell in Camp Crame.

Likewise, the terrorist watch has been heightened in various places of convergence – particularly seaports, airports, bus terminals marketplaces, shopping malls and places of worship.

Full and red alert status, respectively, have been raised by the PNP and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) since the start of the United States-led military strikes on Iraq to prevent possible terrorist attacks in the country.

Meanwhile, PNP Director General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. and his staff conducted a command conference in Cebu City with police field commanders in the Central Visayas yesterday.

The command conference tackled threats posed by local and foreign terrorists in Cebu City, as well as the increase in local street crimes.

Ebdane ordered the Central Visayas’ provincial and municipal police chiefs to concentrate their efforts on winning the fight against petty crime.

In a related development, Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza lauded President Arroyo’s surprise inspections of various public facilities.

"I appreciate the surprise inspection being conducted by the President," Mendoza said in a press statement. "It only emphasizes her concern and dedication to ensure the safety and security of the riding public."

2 Iraqi diplomats leave RP

At the same time, two senior Iraqi diplomats have left the Philippines after being expelled on suspicion of spying on Americans in the country, Foreign Secretary Blas Ople said yesterday.

Iraqi First Secretary Abdul Karim Shwaikh and an attaché, Karim Nassir Hamid, left aboard an EgyptAir flight late Wednesday, Ople told reporters.

On Monday, Ople ordered the Iraqis to leave the country within 72 hours, accusing them of taking photographs of the American Cemetery in Manila on the eve of a memorial service last November. The US embassy canceled the event, citing a terrorist threat.

Some Philippine lawmakers have asked Ople to produce evidence against the two to dispel speculation that the government was penalizing innocent Iraqis to please Washington, which asked countries to expel Baghdad’s diplomats.

Ople has not publicly shown any evidence. After consulting with the defense, security and intelligence agencies, he said he was "convinced that these two diplomats have engaged in activities that are contrary to their status as diplomats." – With AFP, Sandy Araneta, Jose Rodel Clapano