THE capture of a leader of a radical group of Muslim converts may have averted a wave of bombs in Metro Manila over the Christmas holidays, intelligence officials said yesterday. Pio de Vera, the alleged no. 2 of the Rajah Solaiman Islamic Movement (RSIM), which has ties to the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group, was caught last week at a house in Zamboanga City, they said. “We have preempted what we believe was a major terror plot by Muslim militants to bomb night spots in the capital during the Christmas holidays,” a senior army intelligence official said. “He’s still undergoing debriefing. We may get more details on the militants’ plot.” Muslim rebels with funding from the Jemaah Islamiyah regional terrorist network have staged bomb attacks in the past, including those on a train and bus in December 2000 that killed 22 people. Full Story
About OODA Analyst
OODA is comprised of a unique team of international experts capable of providing advanced intelligence and analysis, strategy and planning support, risk and threat management, training, decision support, crisis response, and security services to global corporations and governments.