The two are also wanted for the nightclub bombings in Bali in 2002 that left 202 people dead. They are suspected to have replaced Riduan Isamuddin, the Indonesian known as Hambali, as operational leaders of Jemaah Islamiyah, the same terrorist cell responsible for the December 2000 bombings in Metro Manila and the Valentine’s Day attack in Makati this year. Both men reportedly received training in bomb-making in Mindanao.
Those training camps have long been a source of concern for the international community. The camps were set up under the aegis of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front. MILF leaders maintain that the training sites were dismantled when their camps were overrun by government forces in 2000. But intelligence gathered by security officials in the region from captured terror suspects dispute the MILF’s claim.
The issue of the JI training camps in Mindanao has been a sticking point in the peace negotiations between the government and the MILF. The MILF leadership insists that only its renegades continue to collaborate with JI. Persistent reports, however, indicate that the MILF leadership is either lying or clueless about the activities of its members.
Recent intelligence reports point to a dangerous alliance among JI, the Abu Sayyaf and MILF members. The alliance has been tagged in the bombing of a ferry in Manila Bay last year that left over a hundred people dead. MILF-protected enclaves are believed to have provided sanctuary to Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani.
Unless this issue is cleared up, there can never be genuine peace with the MILF. And unless this issue is resolved, Mindanao will continue to be a training center for terrorists.