The Philippine military and police went on full alert yesterday as the predominantly Catholic country prepared for Easter holidays under a cloud of terror threats.
Director General Arturo Lomibao assured the public that they can continue with their plans for the Holy Week, but urged them to remain vigilant against possible attacks.
Police warned that the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group was plotting bomb attacks during the Easter holidays in retaliation for the killing of 22 rebels in a prison revolt last week. Authorities have identified up to six Abu Sayyaf rebels and three militants from the regional Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) group who would allegedly implement plots in Manila and key southern cities.
"We are not sure where they are but we are doing our best to hunt them down," said Chief Superintendent Ismael Rafanan.
Rafanan said one of the JI militants was working with up to six Abu Sayyaf rebels, while the other two JI bombers belonged to a different cell operating independently.
The alleged targets of the attacks include shopping malls and Catholic churches, where Filipinos often flock to during the lenten break. Officials said some 10,000 policemen are being deployed around Manila to guard the potential targets, including bus terminals, airports and seaports which were expected to be crowded. Many Filipinos also take advantage of the Holy Week to visit their provinces for a vacation or a family reunion.
Last month, the Abu Sayyaf claimed responsibility for three near-simultaneous bomb attacks in Manila and two cities, killing 12 and injuring more than 140 others.
PRECARIOUS RELATIONS: Commentators in Saudi Arabia accuse the UAE of growing too bold, backing forces at odds with Saudi interests in various conflicts A Saudi Arabian media campaign targeting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has deepened the Gulf’s worst row in years, stoking fears of a damaging fall-out in the financial heart of the Middle East. Fiery accusations of rights abuses and betrayal have circulated for weeks in state-run and social media after a brief conflict in Yemen, where Saudi airstrikes quelled an offensive by UAE-backed separatists. The United Arab Emirates is “investing in chaos and supporting secessionists” from Libya to Yemen and the Horn of Africa, Saudi Arabia’s al-Ekhbariya TV charged in a report this week. Such invective has been unheard of
‘TERRORIST ATTACK’: The convoy of Brigadier General Hamdi Shukri resulted in the ‘martyrdom of five of our armed forces,’ the Presidential Leadership Council said A blast targeting the convoy of a Saudi Arabian-backed armed group killed five in Yemen’s southern city of Aden and injured the commander of the government-allied unit, officials said on Wednesday. “The treacherous terrorist attack targeting the convoy of Brigadier General Hamdi Shukri, commander of the Second Giants Brigade, resulted in the martyrdom of five of our armed forces heroes and the injury of three others,” Yemen’s Saudi Arabia-backed Presidential Leadership Council said in a statement published by Yemeni news agency Saba. A security source told reporters that a car bomb on the side of the road in the Ja’awla area in
US President Donald Trump on Saturday warned Canada that if it concludes a trade deal with China, he would impose a 100 percent tariff on all goods coming over the border. Relations between the US and its northern neighbor have been rocky since Trump returned to the White House a year ago, with spats over trade and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney decrying a “rupture” in the US-led global order. During a visit to Beijing earlier this month, Carney hailed a “new strategic partnership” with China that resulted in a “preliminary, but landmark trade agreement” to reduce tariffs — but
SCAM CLAMPDOWN: About 130 South Korean scam suspects have been sent home since October last year, and 60 more are still waiting for repatriation Dozens of South Koreans allegedly involved in online scams in Cambodia were yesterday returned to South Korea to face investigations in what was the largest group repatriation of Korean criminal suspects from abroad. The 73 South Korean suspects allegedly scammed fellow Koreans out of 48.6 billion won (US$33 million), South Korea said. Upon arrival in South Korea’s Incheon International Airport aboard a chartered plane, the suspects — 65 men and eight women — were sent to police stations. Local TV footage showed the suspects, in handcuffs and wearing masks, being escorted by police officers and boarding buses. They were among about 260 South
RSS