Homeland Security

DATE=05/06/04

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=PHILIPPINES TERROR (S & L)

NUMBER=2-315659

BYLINE=NANCY-AMELIA COLLINS

DATELINE=MANILA

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Philippine security forces say they have uncovered a financial network used by Jemaah Islamiyah to fund terrorist attacks in Southeast Asia. Nancy-Amelia Collins in Manila reports, officials traced the source of the money to the al-Qaida terrorist network.

TEXT: The government says the anti-terrorism task force has traced 25-thousand dollars sent to Jemaah Islamiyah operatives in the southern Philippines from the al-Qaida terrorist network.

A key suspect is in custody, Jordan Mamso Abdullah, a Filipino currency trader believed to have received the funds.

Philippine Defense Secretary Eduardo Ermita says Mr. Abdullah gave authorities valuable information about Jemaah Islamiyah operations in the Philippines.

/// ERMITA ACT ///

And I would not be surprised, if it is not just the 25-thousand dollars that so far has gotten into the Philippines. I would not be surprised, if we might again stumble into something, which would show that the operation is much bigger.

/// END ACT ///

Mr. Abdullah, in handcuffs and wearing a bright yellow t-shirt, was paraded before the media during a news conference Thursday at the department of defense.

Asked by reporters if the charges against him were true, Mr. Abdullah said "no."

/// REST OPT ///

Mr. Abdullah is from the southern island of Mindanao, which has a large Muslim population and several Muslim separatist groups. He was arrested on April third.

Philippines authorities say he gave them details that, combined with information gathered from U-S interrogations of captured al-Qaida and J-I suspects, give authorities a much clearer picture of how the terrorist network works in the Philippines.

Defense Secretary Ermita says foreign J-I members, from Malaysia and Indonesia, are operating training camps in the south of the country.

/// 2nd ERMITA ACT ///

They're trying to develop a J-I cell in the Philippines because, first, it's so easy to get in and out of the Philippines through the southern back door.

/// END ACT ///

J-I is allegedly working with the Muslim separatists who have been fighting against the government in Mindanao for three decades. The group aims to create a pan-Islamic state across much of Southeast Asia.

Jemaah Islamiyah is blamed for the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people. (SIGNED)

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