Five foreigners hunted

The military and the police have been tasked with hunting down five foreigners with Middle Eastern features, who reportedly arrived in Central Mindanao about a week ago, sources said.

Army intelligence has identified the five aliens but declined to reveal their names pending further verification with the Bureau of Immigration in Manila.

One of the sources said they have a photograph of the five foreigners meeting with local leaders, one of them a popular politician whose name was also not revealed.

Maguindanao Governor Datu Andal Ampatuan, chairman of the provincial peace and order council, ordered the provincial police to help the military monitor the movements of the five foreigners who reportedly arrived in the Zamboanga peninsula.

Maj. Julieto Ando, spokesman of the 6th infantry division, said all the intelligence units in Central Mindanao had been ordered to help track down the five foreigners.

"There have been persistent reports that these people met with certain leaders in Maguindanao and surrounding areas. We are now validating all the information about them, their identities and their purpose for coming here," Ando noted.

The arrival of the five foreigners was followed by a bomb attack on a petrol station in Shariff Aguak, the capital of Maguindanao, on Saturday. Four people were badly injured in the blast.

The bomb was left beside a gas pump of a Petron service station owned by the son of Governor Ampatuan. Hours later, explosives experts safely defused a bomb also left in a petrol station in nearby Esperanza, Sultan Kudarat, only about 15 kilometres away from Shariff Aguak.

Ampatuan is known for his hardline policy against lawless elements. He recently offered a monetary reward for any information leading to the arrest of those involved in the recent bombing.