Philippine police warn of alleged bomb plot in capital

Aug 27, 2007, 11:05 GMT

Manila - Philippine police on Monday warned of an alleged plot by al-Qaeda-linked Islamic militants to bomb shopping malls and gasoline stations in the capital.

The alleged plot emerged amid stepped-up military offensives against Abu Sayyaf rebels and Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) operatives in the southern Philippines.

Chief Superintendent Luizo Ticman, a police district commander in Manila, said intelligence reports showed that at least three shopping malls in the capital were possible targets of attacks.

'Please be informed that according to some intelligence reports, prominent malls and gasoline stations in metro Manila will be the next targets of the JI-RSM group,' he said in a memorandum.

The RSM is the Rajah Solaiman Movement, a radical group of Muslim converts that has been blamed for some terrorist attacks in the Philippines. It has also been linked with the JI and the Abu Sayyaf.

Ticman ordered police to validate the information and tighten security in vital installations and other possible targets.

The military has intensified offensives against the Abu Sayyaf and the JI in the southern province of Basilan and nearby Jolo island following a series of battlefield losses.

More than 50 soldiers have been killed in clashes with Muslim militants in Basilan and Jolo since last month.