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Friday, August 12, 2005 - Page updated at 12:00 AM

Report: Rebels targeted British, U.S. embassies

The Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines — Islamic militants linked to al-Qaida have plotted attacks on U.S. and British embassies, hotels, a mall and other targets across the country, according to a confidential Philippines government report.

The report, which was prepared in March, contains sketchy details of bombing, kidnapping and assassination plots that Philippine intelligence agencies say are linked to the Abu Sayyaf extremist group and the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Some of the attacks were intended to be staged by Filipino militants trained by al-Qaida's regional ally, Jemaah Islamiyah, the report said.

Abu Sayyaf members have been battling government troops in the south here, and the group has been blamed for terror attacks in recent years, including two explosions in the southern port of Zamboanga that wounded 26 people late Wednesday.

Two other southern cities mentioned as targets in the report, Cotabato and Koronadal, were hit by bombings that wounded four people July 30. Abu Sayyaf also was blamed for those blasts.

The MILF's leaders have been engaged in peace talks with the government since 1997 and spokesman Eid Kabalu denied it was planning attacks.

Among attacks blamed on Abu Sayyaf were three Feb. 14 bombings that killed eight people and wounded more than 120 in Manila and the southern cities of General Santos and Davao. The report said those bombings bolstered concerns that Jemaah Islamiyah is operating in the Philippines and coordinating with local militants.

Abu Sayyaf leader Abu Sulaiman planned car bombings in Manila's business district, military and police camps in the capital and sites in Davao, the report said. Two Abu Sayyaf would-be suicide bombers were waiting to acquire "luxury cars" to use in the attacks, it said. Ferries serving the southern Mindanao region and Manila also are Abu Sayyaf targets, the report said.

The report said the MILF's special-operations group, whose members have been linked to Jemaah Islamiyah, plotted to bomb U.S. and British embassies, a commuter train, hotels and a mall in the capital on unspecified dates.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's national security adviser, Norberto Gonzales, said terror plots may have been delayed or thwarted by U.S.-backed military offensives, tighter immigration watches and the strengthening of security at potential targets.

Gonzales also said government offensives against local militants may have prompted Jemaah Islamiyah to plan to send about 10 Indonesians for possible suicide-bombing missions in the Philippines. Previously, foreign militants have relied on local insurgents to carry out attacks, he said.

At least two of the 10 Indonesian militants already may have reached here, he said.

Copyright © 2005 The Seattle Times Company


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