Just as foreign jihadists are traveling to Iraq to wage jihad, so “Indonesian militants from the Al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah (JI) network are probably training Filipino guerillas in mountainous areas on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, a top official said yesterday.” This from AFP, with thanks to Nicolei.
“Defence Secretary Eduardo Ermita, quoting military intelligence reports, said the Indonesians were believed to be in the Lanao province and near areas controlled by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the country’s largest separatist force negotiating peace with Manila.
“The 31 Indonesians could be the remnants of a group who infiltrated Mindanao as early as 1999 with the help of bomb expert Fathur Rohman al-Ghozie, who was killed by troops in October, he said. He warned the MILF against associating with the Indonesians.”