Gov’t gives MILF list of JI members

DAVAO CITY — The government has forwarded to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) a list of suspected members of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), an Indonesian-based terror group, and wanted criminals in line with a joint action agreement forged in 2002.

The list, which contained the names of 32 suspected JI men and 21 mostly Abu Sayyaf and Pentagon kidnap-for-ransom syndicate members, was turned over to the MILF during a meeting here of the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG) last Saturday.

"The list, which will remain confidential, will undergo a process of validation. It is now with us and we will go over it before any plan of action shall be recommended or actually undertaken," MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said.

The AHJAG, activated last December in line with the government-MILF joint communique forged on May 6, 2002, is tasked to carry out joint operations against terrorists, criminals and syndicated groups in Mindanao.

The government is tapping the MILF’s full cooperation in flushing out suspected JI terrorists believed seeking refuge in known MILF territories.

So far, there have been four successful "coordinated operations" between the government and the MILF, including last week’s rescue of schoolgirls abducted in Lanao del Sur.