The Hindu : Terror strike pre-empted: Arroyo

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 31, 2004

International

International

Terror strike pre-empted: Arroyo

By P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE: The President of the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, said on Tuesday that a terrorist plot to launch a Madrid-type bombing of malls and trains in Metro Manila had been foiled. She said four Abu Sayyaf Group terrorists had been arrested and 80 pounds of TNT was recovered. She said the Philippines was "quietly but persistently'' building an intelligence network for going after the terrorist cells. This should speak for her Government's "determination to finish off the Abu Sayyaf, the Jemaah Islamiyah and the Al-Qaeda cells in the country''. Referring to the `help' being received from the U.S. and other allies in the anti-terror campaign in the Philippines, she said the arrests "reflect the... fusion'' between the Filipino intelligence and its U.S. counterpart. She was categorical that a Madrid-style terror operation was indeed planned.

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Terror strike pre-empted: Arroyo