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MANILA, Philippines – The National Bureau of Investigation has arrested in Pasay City two suspected members of the Abu Sayyaf Group wanted for the 2002 kidnapping and killing of members of Jehova’s Witness. NBI Officer-in-Charge Director Eric Distor identified the suspects as Jamar Ibi and Raden Jamil. The two were arrested by members of the NBI’s Counter-Terrorism Division (NBI-CTD) by virtue of arrest warrants issued by the Pasig City Regional Trial Court Branch 266. NBI-CTD Officer-In-Charge Darcy Binaya said the two were among those charged with six counts of non-bailable charges of kidnapping and serious illegal detention with ransom before...

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MANILA, Philippines – President-elect Rodrigo Duterte is considering implementing martial law in Sulu, Basilan and the entire Sulu Archipelago in an attempt to eliminate the Abu Sayyaf Group. The terrorist group has continually engaged in high-profile kidnappings throughout the southern regions of the Philippines – often abducting business owners and foreigners. Recently the group has begun decapitating its captives after ransom demands are not met. Duterte told reporters during his pre-election campaign that he would not hesitate to invade Sulu if the Abu Sayyaf Group does not surrender to his demands. ...

MANILA (AFP) - Nearly one thousand American and Filipino soldiers on Sunday began joint military exercises aimed at improving cooperation against terrorist and other attacks. The two-week exercises are to be held in military camps in Luzon. Some 300 US troops and 650 Filipino soldiers are taking part. The maneuvers are aimed at improving joint planning and enhancing capabilities "against armed attacks, including threats from terrorist groups, as well as readiness to respond to natural disasters," the US embassy said. The Philippines is a US ally in its global war on terrorism, and small numbers of US military advisers have...

MANILA, Philippines, -- U.S. President George W. Bush's visit next month "will further seal our pact against terrorism and poverty," Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said Friday. Arroyo, one of Bush's closest allies in Asia, said Filipinos look forward to the visit "with anticipation and gladness," and while the expected eight-hour stop may be short, "the expected gains are undiminished." "It will symbolize the conjoined strategic objective of the Philippines and the United States for global peace, security and development and continuing U.S. engagement in Southeast Asia," she said in a statement. She said the visit will solidify the Philippines'...

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines, Sep 13, 2003 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- Soldiers killed two suspected members of the Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf group and seized pictures of al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden and documents in Arabic after storming a rebel camp in the southern Philippines Saturday, a military commander said. The soldiers also recovered weapons at the camp in the mountain village of Matalang outside Sumisip town on Basilan island, said Maj. Gen. Trifonio Salazar, commander of the army's 1st Infantry Division. He said field officers reported that the documents were "voluminous" and were going to have them translated. He had...

Journalists and congressional investigators are beginning to trace the terror trail backward from 9-11 to Oklahoma City and the earlier World Trade Center bombing. Ramzi Yousef, the reputed mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, sits in a federal maximum-security prison in Florence, Colorado, serving a life sentence. Terry Nichols, the convicted co-conspirator of Timothy McVeigh in the Oklahoma City bombing, is incarcerated in the Oklahoma County Jail. He faces a life sentence without parole for the deaths of eight federal law enforcement agents in that 1995 bombing, as well as an upcoming state trial for the deaths of...

Jewish World Review June 11, 2002 / 1 Tamuz, 5762 Cal Thomas Free at last http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com | Islamic guerillas in the Philippines appear to have profiled Martin Burnham and his wife, Gracia. The missionaries were kidnapped more than a year ago because they were Christians and Americans. They were held hostage because their captors hoped to win political concessions from the Philippine government that would ultimately lead to their goal of establishing a Muslim state. Burnham, 42, died Friday (June 7) in a shootout between government troops and the Muslim separatists, Gracia, 43, was wounded but is reported out of...

Skirmish in Philippines involves U.S. U.S. copters evacuate Filipinos; 1 dies in fight with extremists ASSOCIATED PRESS ZAMBOANGA, Philippines, March 16 — U.S. military helicopters evacuated three wounded Filipino soldiers after a clash with Muslim extremists on a remote southern island that left one Filipino dead, officials said Saturday. About 660 U.S. soldiers are in the southern Philippines on a mission to train Philippine troops. IT WAS THE FIRST KNOWN time that U.S. military advisers in the southern Philippines had a role, even indirect, in the Philippines’ war with Abu Sayyaf guerrillas who have been linked to the international al-Qaida...