‘Arrested Egyptian fought troops in Mindanao’

An Egyptian arrested for suspected al-Qaeda links was one of several foreign militants who fought government troops during an offensive four years ago against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Mindanao, military officials said yesterday.

Hassan Bakir told military interrogators following his arrest Wednesday that he was a bomb instructor at Camp Omar of the MILF and that he trained there with other Egyptians and Indonesians, a military official said on condition of anonymity.

But the Southern Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) declared they have no evidence linking Bakir to any terror organization.

Southcom officials initially described Bakir as an "Arab national" allegedly conducting training at Camp Omar of the MILF.

Southcom chief Lt. Gen. Roy Kyamco said a background check on Bakir so far produced no reports linking him to any terror group.

"So far in our findings, I don’t have any information linking him to (any) terrorist group," Kyamco said.

He added that in their initial investigation in Datu Piang, where Bakir was arrested, local leaders vouched for the Egyptian as a resident of good standing for 10 years.

"I can only surmise that he was probably arrested for overstaying, but linking him with any group would be known once the interrogation is completed," Kyamco said.

AFP chief Gen. Narciso Abaya said Bakir was brought to the MILF headquarters in Camp Abubakar, where he joined the rebels in defending the camp against a government offensive in 2000.

Bakir later went to Camp Omar in Maguindanao province, Abaya said.

Both camps were overrun in July 2000, but as part of continuing peace talks between the government and the separatists, a portion of Camp Omar was returned to the MILF as temporary quarters. "He is suspected to have links with al-Qaeda. He is suspected to have trained some ... (Jemaah Islamiyah) members in demolition," Abaya said.

Abaya said Bakir also taught the Koran, but added that foreign militants often arrive in the country as Muslim preachers but end up serving as "terrorism instructors."

Abaya also claimed Bakir had invalid travel documents but refused to elaborate on possible charges against him, saying that will depend on the investigation.

‘A Bankrupt Businessman’

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu denied Bakir had links to the MILF and al-Qaeda.

He said the Egyptian was a "bankrupt businessman" who was invited by a local religious leader in the 1990s to settle in Datu Piang, where he married a Filipina with whom he has six or seven children.

Kabalu claimed Bakir is living on his measly earnings as a low-scale inland fisherman.

"He was bankrupt in his business and was roaming in Manila when a Maguindanaon friend brought him to Maguindanao and helped him start all over again," Kabalu said.

Kabalu said their MILF commander in Datu Piang and surrounding towns, Ustadz Amiril Kato Ombra, has also denied reports that Bakir trained guerrillas in the handling of explosives and fabrication of home-made bombs using mortar rounds and anti-tank rockets in Camp Omar, located in Maguindanao.

Bakir’s brother-in-law, Datu Piang Mayor Shamier Uy, also denied the Egyptian had any links with terror groups.

"So far, we have no information whatsoever as to the alleged connection of this foreigner to the JI and other terrorist organizations," Uy said.

"It would be impossible for us not to know if he has links with the JI or the al-Qaeda. My administration, modesty aside, is feared in this town for its very harsh stand in dealing with people coddling enemies of the government," the town mayor added.

Government troops swooped in Wednesday on Bakir’s residence in Barangay Magaslong in Datu Piang following a long surveillance operation, officials said.

Datu Piang is a known haunt of MILF rebels, which the military suspects of links to al-Qaeda and the Southeast Asian terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah (JI). Security officials have said at least 30 mostly Indonesian militants belonging to the JI may be hiding in the hinterlands of Mindanao.

Bakir was the sixth foreigner arrested in Maguindanao over the past three years on suspicions of having links with international terrorist organizations. — AP, Roel Pareño, John Unson, Jaime Laude