AFP: No Aussie troops in terror campaign

The military has denied an Australian newspaper report that elite Australian troops have joined Filipino soldiers in hunting down Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militants in the country.

Armed Forces spokesman Lt. Col. Buenaventura Pascual said Australian security forces have been involved only in investigations of recent bomb attacks in the country. He said the Constitution bars any foreign troops from engaging in military operations.

"That is not true. The ground commanders will not allow it," Pascual said, a day after Australia’s News Ltd. newspapers cited an unnamed former agent as saying that Australian agents and Special Air Service Regiment troops were cooperating with Filipino soldiers in the hunt for senior terrorist figures.

"Hindi nga natin pinapayagan na sumama ang Amerikanong tropa sa ating mga operations, bakit na naman natin papayagan ang mga Australians (We don’t even allow American troops to participate in our operations, why would we grant Australians that)?" Pascual asked.

The 1987 Constitution prohibits the participation of foreign troops in military operations unless covered by a treaty or agreement.

Australian policemen composed of bomb experts played a major role in the conduct of what Pascual called a "post-blast" probe into the Super Ferry 14 bombing in Manila Bay on Feb. 27 last year.

Based at the Subic Bay freeport zone in Zambales, Australian policemen were instrumental in the filing of cases against the Abu Sayyaf in the attack.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer on Sunday would neither confirm nor deny the presence of Australia’s Special Air Service Regiment troops (SAS), the shadowy regiment that has spearheaded Australia’s combat roles in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"I’m not going to go into all the details of who they are, but there are Australian personnel in the Philippines who are providing the Philippines police and Armed Forces with assistance," Downer told Melbourne Radio 3AW.

"We do have some people there from... various arms of government helping the Filipinos, and have had for quite some time," he added.

Pascual meanwhile also warned that at least two terrorist cells composed of Filipino and Indonesian Muslim militants were plotting bombings in Manila.

He said military intelligence agents were tracking down at least four people in each of the cells, but identified them only as members of the al-Qaeda-linked groups JI and the Abu Sayyaf.

Philippine security officials said earlier that Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khaddafy Janjalani was hiding with alleged JI militants Dulmatin and Umar Patek in Mindanao.

The two are wanted by the Indonesian government for alleged involvement in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people. They are also suspected of helping plan the Oct. 1 suicide attacks on three tourist-packed Bali restaurants that killed 23 people, including the bombers and four Australians. About 100 people were wounded.

Washington announced last week a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Dulmatin, and up to $1 million for information leading to Patek’s conviction.

"They obviously are believed to still be in Southeast Asia, possibly the Philippines. But the nature of these terrorist organizations is that they can move from country to country," United States Embassy spokesman Matthew Lussenhop told Manila radio dzBB yesterday.

"We’re working very closely with the Philippine government, Philippine security, to shut down that kind of possibility that terrorists can move in and out of the country," Lussenhop said.

A week after the Oct. 1 Bali bombings, attention is focusing on terrorist cells operating in the southern Philippines.

Fugitive bomb makers Noordin Mohamed Top and Azahari bin Husin are also believed to be the masterminds behind the attacks. Azahari is known as the "Demolition Man" for his knowledge of explosives while Noordin has been labeled the "Moneyman" for his supposed ability to raise funds for the group’s deadly missions.

A top Indonesian anti-terror official, Maj. Gen. Ansyaad Mbai, also has identified the two as the alleged masterminds of the latest bombings.

Indonesian police say the two have eluded capture for years by renting cheap houses in densely populated areas, with nearby back alleys for quick escapes. — AP, Jaime Laude