Bomb suspect with JI links falls

MANILA, Philippines - A suspected militant believed to be a liaison between Muslim rebels and a Southeast Asian terrorist network was arrested in Sultan Kudarat province Tuesday, authorities said.

Security forces apprehended Abi Pamanay in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat’s capital town, based on an arrest warrant for murder in connection with bombing attacks, said Army chief Lt. Gen. Arturo Ortiz.

Ortiz accused Pamanay of being a member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and a “senior associate” of notorious bomb-maker Abdul Basit Usman, who has been on the run for his alleged links with the Indonesian-based terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah and the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf, both blamed for a series of deadly attacks across the region.

Pamanay was being interrogated after his arrest in Isulan, Ortiz said. Other officials were quoted as saying he did not resist arrest and had denied the charges against him.

Usman is a Filipino on the US State Department’s list of most-wanted terrorists who carries a $1-million bounty.

Pakistani military intelligence officers last year claimed that Usman was killed with other militants in a US drone strike in a Pakistani tribal region, but a Philippine military official later denied it, saying that Usman had been sighted near Maguindanao.

Maj. Marlowe Patria, civil-military relations officer of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said they are confident that Pamanay would help authorities locate Usman.

Philippine officials have said that MILF rebels and the Abu Sayyaf maintain ties with Jemaah Islamiyah, providing sanctuary for dozens of Indonesian militants and making use of their training.

Ortiz said Pamanay was a member of a special operations unit of the MILF, the main rebel group that has been fighting for Muslim self-rule for decades and is engaged in negotiations with the government.

MILF leader Mohagher Iqbal said yesterday he could not recognize Pamanay’s name and was still validating if he had any links with the insurgents. He also denied that Usman was a member of the group.

After a decade of US military training and intelligence gathering in Mindanao, hundreds of militants are still active despite battlefield gains that have killed or captured dozens of senior leaders. – AP, Jaime Laude, John Unson, Roel Pareño