Suspected Muslim militant arrested in southern Philippines

Mar 9, 2009, 7:47 GMT

   Manila - Government troops arrested a suspected Muslim militant after an armed skirmish in the southern Philippines, a regional military commander said Monday.

   Major General Reynaldo Mapagu said the suspect, Giovanni de Ocampo, is a former communist rebel who recently joined a unit of the regional terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) in the Philippines.

   Mapagu said troops arrested De Ocampo on Sunday after a clash with a group of gunmen in Napnapan village in Pantukan town in Compostela Valley province, 930 kilometres south of Manila.

   De Ocampo's four companions escaped.

   Troops recovered four homemade bombs made from 81-millimetre mortars, an M-79 grenade launcher with ammunition and assorted bomb parts, Mapagu said.

   'An initial field report revealed that De Ocampo was a trainer-expert in manufacturing improvised explosive devices,' he said in a statement.

   'His capture pre-empted another plan to conduct bombing operations in [the southern region of] Mindanao, particularly in the urban centres such as Davao, General Santos and Kidapawan.'

   Security experts have in the past warned that about a dozen foreign JI operatives were hiding in the Mindanao, where they have teamed up with local militants to train and recruit new members.

   JI has been blamed for some of the worst terrorist attacks in South-East Asia, including the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings that killed more than 200 people.