MILF rebels help AFP raid Pentagon hideout
COTABATO: Muslim guerrillas helped government troops on Monday find a hideout where they had killed five members of a criminal gang on a US terrorist group list, officials said.
The troops, guided partly by information from the rebels, raided a “Pentagon Gang” lair in a vast marshland in Maguindanao province, thwarting an alleged kidnapping-for-ransom plot, said army Col. Gerry Jalandoni.
The military had informed the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front—which has a cease-fire agreement with the government—about the raid beforehand to prevent accidental clashes with MILF guerrillas camped near the hideout, Jalandoni said.
The MILF provided information that helped the troops find the gang, he said.
Bomb suspect nabbed
In Manila police have arrested a man believed to be one of the two suspects who left more than 12 kilos of explosives and bomb components in Taguig on Friday.
The Southern Police District director, Chief Supt. Wilfredo Garcia, identified the suspect as Jemar Astalik, alias Janjalani, 19, a resident of Signal Village in Taguig.
Astalik denied knowledge of the foiled bomb attack but admitted having known one Gap-Bal Bana, alias Boy Negro, said to be one of the two men who left the materials.
Astalik was positively identified by witnesses Joseph Diala and Dennis Laguipo.
On Friday, police recovered a black bag, a box and a tin can that contained two kilos of TNT, 10 kilos of pyrotechnic powder and 90 pieces of blasting cap inside an abandoned mini-store at Block 9, Lot 15, Phase 1.
Manhunt continues
There were no casualties Monday among the soldiers, who recovered an M-16 rifle and two antitank rocket launchers from the hideout near Midpandacan Village, about 930 kilometers (575 miles) southeast of Manila, Jalandoni said.
Troops were chasing about two dozen kidnappers who fled after the raid and the two-hour gun battle, he said.
The Pentagon Gang is notorious for kidnapping foreign workers and Christian missionaries.
Some military officials allege the gang is the MILF’s money-making arm. The MILF denies the allegation.
The MILF has been fighting for a separate Muslim homeland in Mindanao for decades, and has pledged to help capture criminals and suspected foreign terrorists in an effort to foster peace talks with the government.
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2005/mar/01/yehey/top_stories/20050301top3.html
Forbes ^ | 2/28/05 | Forces
Posted on 02/28/2005 10:25:18 PM EST by freedom44
Jihadist Commentary on the Killing of Rafiq al-Hariri
02/22/2005 - Reaction to the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri on the Jihadi websites mirrored the diversity — and the bewilderment — of the world's press. As a sample of this diversity, the following postings are taken from the jihadist discussion web magazines and forums Muntadiyat al-Ma'sada al-Jihadiyya (www.alm2sda.net), Shabkat al-Ahrar (www.ala7rar.net) and Mufakkirat al-Islam (www.islammemo.cc).
Excerpted