Manila: Soldiers have arrested four members of the Al Qaida-linked group Abu Sayyaf, a military spokesman said yesterday, destroying a potentially dangerous militant cell on a western resort island.
The men were arrested following a raid on Palawan island, popular with tourists for its beaches and diving spots, and officials said the cell could have been plotting to stage kidnappings.
"They were linked to several murder and kidnapping cases in the south," Lieutenant Colonel Jacinto de Vera said, adding the raid followed a tip-off from residents.
De Vera said one of the arrested men, known by his alias as Abu Mogera, was believed to be an understudy of Indonesian militant Dulmatin, one of the key suspects in the 2002 Bali bombing that killed 202 people.
Dulmatin remains at large.
