There are 50 Filipinos who are being trained by the hardline Taliban militia of Afghanistan, where Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden is believed to be hiding, according to a report sent to the intelligence division of the Armed Forces of the Philippines by the Philippine Mission to the United Nations.

"At a base in Charasyab near Kabul, which is used for technical support and repair of weapons, there are several fighters from Arab countries, 50 (of them are) Filipinos, and 40 Ulgurs," said the nine-page report, dated March 9, 2001.

"The eighth division of the Taliban under Mohammad Tarek, a Sudanese, includes Pakistanis and Afghans, Chechens, Tajiks, Uzbeks, Filipinos, Bangladeshis, Kashmiris, and nationals from Arab countries," said the same report, which comes from the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations.

It was sent to the U.N. Secretary-General during a review of Afghanistan.

The report was made prior to the destruction of the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon in Washington D.C. on September 11.

"We are confirming if these fighters are affiliated with the separatist Muslim groups in Mindanao, southern Philippines," said Spokesman Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan. He added that the list did not include the names of the 50 trainees.

"We know that some Muslim Filipinos were recruited to train in Afghanistan and other parts of the Middle East," noted Brig. Gen. Adan.

Abu Sayyaf founder, Abdurajak Janjalani, was once a mujaheed in Afghanistan, when the country ousted the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

"This report only confirms that these linkages are still being maintained by the local group (such as the Abu Sayyaf in Mindanao)," stated Brig. Gen. Adan.

"It could be that some of them were trained for religious purposes. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, instead of going to a religious school for training, some of the terrorist groups are able to take hold of them and they are given military training," explained Brig. Gen. Adan.