Philippine security forces have arrested three suspects from the Middle East allegedly involved in a plot to bomb the US, British and Australian embassies in Manila, officials said yesterday.
Philippine Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita confirmed that two men were arrested last month in the southern island of Mindanao and were being interrogated by military intelligence.
A third man, believed to be a Jordanian, was arrested recently in Manila, said a government security official who did not want to be named.
"Indications are that they were part of a plot to bomb at least four foreign embassies in Manila," the source said.
He said that the US, British and Australian embassies were believed to have been among the targets, although he gave no further details.
"There is intelligence information that they are probably terrorists," Ermita told reporters during a security conference in Manila. "Their objective was to create chaos."
Asked if they had links to the Jemaah Islamiyah and Abu Sayyaf militant groups, he said "most likely" but declined to give any further details.
A source at a Western embassy said the embassy was aware of the claims and was still trying to verify the reliability of the information.
A security consultant, who did not want to be named, said: "Despite the alleged bomb plot, security around the three embassies had not been increased."
Similar allegations surfaced on Feb. 14 when the government announced it had uncovered a plot by Islamic militants linked to the al-Qaeda network to assassinate Philippine President Gloria Arroyo and bomb foreign embassies.
In December, an Egyptian teacher was arrested for allegedly plotting a Christmas bomb attack in the southern Philippines. He was later freed on bail and was said to have been escorted out of the country by Egyptian embassy officials.
FINANCING
Meanwhile, a security expert said yesterday that proceeds from the sale of counterfeit cigarettes, medicines, CDs and DVDs that are regularly smuggled into the southern Philippines could be helping fund al-Qaeda-linked militants in the region.
Jeffrey Williams, managing director of private security and investigation firm Orion Support Inc, warned innocent purchases from Internet sites and street markets of fake Nike merchandise, counterfeit CDs and DVDs could be funding militant attacks.
"Terrorist organizations are attracted to counterfeiting and piracy because it's a lucrative business, but also allows terrorists to remain anonymous," Williams told an anti-terrorism forum in Manila.
"It's a high profit and low-risk operation that has grown exponentially," he said.
Citing a study made by Singapore's International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, Williams said trade in counterfeit products was estimated to have reached US$650 billion annually, exceeding the global narcotics trade at US$322 billion.
The Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce has estimated that the global counterfeit market accounts for more than 9 percent of today's world trade, Williams said.
The combined effect of the monsoon, the outer rim of Typhoon Fengshen and a low-pressure system is expected to bring significant rainfall this week to various parts of the nation, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The heaviest rain is expected to occur today and tomorrow, with torrential rain expected in Keelung’s north coast, Yilan and the mountainous regions of Taipei and New Taipei City, the CWA said. Rivers could rise rapidly, and residents should stay away from riverbanks and avoid going to the mountains or engaging in water activities, it said. Scattered showers are expected today in central and
COOPERATION: Taiwan is aligning closely with US strategic objectives on various matters, including China’s rare earths restrictions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan could deal with China’s tightened export controls on rare earth metals by turning to “urban mining,” a researcher said yesterday. Rare earth metals, which are used in semiconductors and other electronic components, could be recovered from industrial or electronic waste to reduce reliance on imports, National Cheng Kung University Department of Resources Engineering professor Lee Cheng-han (李政翰) said. Despite their name, rare earth elements are not actually rare — their abundance in the Earth’s crust is relatively high, but they are dispersed, making extraction and refining energy-intensive and environmentally damaging, he said, adding that many countries have opted to
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
CONCESSION: A Shin Kong official said that the firm was ‘willing to contribute’ to the nation, as the move would enable Nvidia Crop to build its headquarters in Taiwan Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) yesterday said it would relinquish land-use rights, or known as surface rights, for two plots in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), paving the way for Nvidia Corp to expand its office footprint in Taiwan. The insurer said it made the decision “in the interest of the nation’s greater good” and would not seek compensation from taxpayers for potential future losses, calling the move a gesture to resolve a months-long impasse among the insurer, the Taipei City Government and the US chip giant. “The decision was made on the condition that the Taipei City Government reimburses the related
RSS