Manila says al-Ghozi killed before Bush visit

The Phillippine military said it killed escaped Indonesian militant Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi yesterday, eliminating a major security threat just six days before US President George W. Bush visits Manila.

"It's confirmed," Lieutenant General Rodolfo Garcia, vice chief of the armed forces, told reporters.

"I cannot give you any further details. The president will make an announcement tomorrow."

Al-Ghozi, a member of the Southeast Asian militant group Jemaah Islamiah (JI), embarrassed the Philippine government by walking out of his cell at national police headquarters in mid-July.

The Philippines, an overwhelmingly Roman Catholic nation, is a staunch ally to Washington and is expected to get even more US military and development aid when Bush pays an eight-hour visit to Manila on October 18.

The army killed one Filipino Muslim rebel who fled with al-Ghozi and recaptured the other last week.

The Indonesian, jailed in the Philippines for possessing explosives and falsifying documents, was accused of masterminding bombings that killed 22 people in Manila in December 2000. Intelligence agencies also suspect al-Ghozi's hand in other attacks in the region. Washington says the bomb expert trained at an al Qaeda camp on the Afghan-Pakistani border.

JI, blamed for the nightclub bombings that killed 202 people on the Indonesian island of Bali in October 2002, is suspected of strong ties to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.

Despite the reports of al-Ghozi's death, some senior officers were cautious about Sunday's gunbattle in Pigcawayan town on the southern island of Mindanao.

"We're still verifying it's al-Ghozi," Major General Generoso Senga, the area commander, told Reuters. "We don't want to make mistakes."

Senga said yesterday's operation was mainly led by the police, operating with a small contingent of soldiers.

In recent days the Philippines has reinforced security at possible targets ahead of Bush's visit.

Australia has said JI could increasingly turn its attention to the Philippines because it offered many targets such as Western-style clubs, hotels and multinational businesses.