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Ransom offered for jailbreak trio
MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippine government is offering more than $90,000 for information leading to the recapture of a convicted terrorist after a humiliating jailbreak. Indonesian Fathur Rohman Al-Ghozi, a suspected member of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist group, escaped from police custody on Monday. National Police Chief, Hermogenes Ebdane said he would be satisfied to recover Al-Ghozi "even if he is dead and torn to pieces," Reuters reported. "If you see them and they resist arrest, shoot them," he said. Al-Ghozi – who is said to have plotted bombing carnage across Southeast Asia for the group -- slipped away before dawn with two suspected members of the outlawed radical Islamic group Abu Sayyaf. Sentenced in April last year for 10 to 12 years for possessing explosives, Al-Ghozi has since confessed to involvement in bombings in Manila that killed at least 22 people in December 2000, authorities say. A reward of $37,000 was put on Abu Sayyaf bomb expert Abul Mukhim Edris and $18,000 for Meram Abante, also known as Omar Opik Lasal. Police have hinted that the three Islamic militants likely walked free with the assistance of the facility's guards. "I personally think money changed hands one way or the other," Ebdane said. "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." Police say Al-Ghozi's bomb-making skills, underground contacts and fanaticism make him a regional security threat once more. "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 who were supposed to have been guarding the men have been sacked and are under investigation, Reuters reported. Police said they were looking at the possibility that guards with access to duplicate keys might have opened 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, coming shortly after Australian Prime Minister John Howard signed a security aid package and agreement with Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in Manila. Singapore plotsAl-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. He led police to a ton of explosives intended for the Singapore blasts, and according to al Qaeda operatives now in custody, his arrest put a stop to them. 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 Jakarta Bureau Chief Maria Ressa contributed to this report.
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