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Terror trio escape an 'inside job'
MANILA, Philippines -- Police have hinted that three Islamic militants, with links to a Southeast Asian terror network, who escaped from a police fortress on Monday likely walked free with the assistance of the facility's guards. The Philippine National Police Chief, Hermogenes Ebdane, on Tuesday said the escapees did not use force to escape, suggesting police complicity. Indonesian Fathur Rohman Al-Ghozi, said to be terror group Jemaah Islamiyah's (JI) demolition man who plotted bombing carnage across Southeast Asia, slipped away before dawn on Monday with two suspected members of the outlawed radical Islamic group Abu Sayyaf. "I inspected the site and investigated and I found out that it was impossible for someone to go out. I realized you can't go out without assistance," national Police Chief Hermogenes Ebdane said. A manhunt is now underway for the trio, with police saying Al-Ghozi's bomb-making skills, underground contacts and fanaticism make him a regional security threat once more. The Philippines has also offered a hefty reward for information leading to their capture. Authorities say Al-Ghozi has confessed to involvement in bombings in Manila that killed at least 22 people in December 2000. He was jailed on a separate conviction for the illegal possession of explosives. "He can make a bomb and out of detention he's definitely dangerous," said a police intelligence officer who interrogated the Indonesian, reported The Associated Press. Monday's escape took place from the heavily secured intelligence command building at Camp Crame, the national police headquarters in central Manila. Three policemen guarding the men during the period of escape have been sacked, Reuters reported, and placed under investigation. Police said they were looking at the possibility guards with access to duplicate keys might have used these to open the cells where al-Ghozi and the others were being held. The escape is a serious blow to Philippines counter-terrorism efforts. It is also something of an embarrassment as the breakout was announced after Australian Prime Minister John Howard signed a security aid package and agreement with Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in Manila. A reward of five million pesos ($93,000) was posted on Tuesday for information leading to the recapture of Al-Ghozi. Rewards of two million pesos were put on Abu Sayyaf bomb expert Abul Mukhim Edris and one million pesos for the other rebel fugitive, Meram Abante also known as Omar Opik Lasal. Singapore plots
Al-Ghozi was arrested in January 2002, days after police seized more than a dozen suspected terrorists in Singapore for an alleged plot to bomb U.S. and other Western embassies in the city-state. According to other al Qaeda operatives now in custody, if he had not been caught those plots would have continued as planned. He led police to a ton of explosives intended for the Singapore plot. He was sentenced in April, 2002 by a Philippine court to 10 to 12 years after pleading guilty to the illegal possession of explosives. Al-Ghozi was the link between local Muslim militants in four Southeast Asian nations and the al Qaeda terror network. He was also a bomb expert for the Philippines extremist Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Fluent in several languages, Al-Ghozi allegedly moved effortlessly through Southeast Asia, using five passports and always staying in Muslim neighborhoods Intelligence officials and several regional governments say JI is the Southeast Asian arm of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terror network. -- CNN Correspondent Maria Ressa contributed to this report.
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