Terror suspect claims Egyptians, Indonesians trained with him in Philippine camp MANILA (Philippines) June 2 - An Arab man with suspected ties to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network was arrested Wednesday in the southern Philippines, officials said.
Hassan Bakre told interrogators he was a bombing instructor at a Muslim rebel camp in the south where he had trained with Egyptian and Indonesian militants, a military official said on condition of anonymity.
Philippine troops swooped in on Bakre in Datu Piang town in Maguindanao province following a long surveillance operation, said Maj. Gen. Emmanuel Teodosio.
``We have arrested a suspected member of the al-Qaeda terror group,'' he told reporters in southern Zamboanga city.
He refused to give other details, including the man's nationality.
Datu Piang is a known haunt of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front or MILF, which the military suspects of links to al-Qaeda and the Southeast Asian terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah.
The MILF, which has been holding peace talks with the government, has denied terrorist ties.
Bakre told interrogators that he visited the MILF's Camp Omar in Maguindanao three months ago to train militants in bomb-making, a military official said on condition that he not be named.
The camp was one of several overrun by the military in 2000. But as part of peace negotiations, the government later handed part of the sprawling camp back to the guerrillas.
``He revealed five Egyptian names, seven Indonesian names he was with at the camp,'' the official said. ``He also admitted to be an instructor of Arabic, Islamic studies and bombardment and was able to graduate at least 500 students since he taught in that camp.''
Bakre, who has lived in this country for 15 years, is married to a Philippine woman and runs a lumber business, another official said.
Philippine authorities have been cracking down on suspected foreign militants amid warnings of terror plots.
In late March, four Turkish men working as teachers in the southern city of Cotabato, near Datu Piang, were arrested as terror suspects and then deported.
On Wednesday, Teodosio also presented to the media a suspected member of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group, saying he was arrested Monday after being found with an explosives cache on the southern island of Jolo.
Teodosio described 20-year-old Alzhezar Jila as a highly trained explosives expert linked to several bombings in the south. The navy said his arrest prevented planned terrorist attacks on passenger ships on southern Mindanao island.
Jila wasn't allowed to talk to reporters.
The military also displayed dozens of TNT sticks, blasting caps, five 81 mm mortar shells equipped with timing devices, a remote control unit, blasting caps and cell phones converted into bomb detonators, which it said were found in Jila's possession. - AP
