Army claims surrender of terror attack plotters

Manila: Eight members of a Muslim rebel group planning to bomb a public park and a shopping mall in Manila have surrendered, a Marine general said yesterday.

Major-General Benjamin Dolorfino said the military learned about the plot to plant crude bombs in Rizal Park and a shopping mall in Manila's financial area from the members of the Al Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf who voluntarily turned themselves in on May 1.

"They were ready to attack and were just waiting for their leaders to issue orders," he said.

Dolorfino said the eight men were part of a larger group of 38 Abu Sayyaf militants dispatched to the capital to plan attacks on shopping malls, public parks and the transport network, including commuter buses, trains and ferries.

He did not say why the men gave themselves up or the whereabouts of the other members of the group. "These were members of numerous sleeper cells that would be activated when the need arose."