Usman 'special operations' group in PNP radar ahead of Pope's visit

From InterAksyon (Nov 17): Usman 'special operations' group in PNP radar ahead of Pope's visit

A source from the intelligence branch of the Philippine National Police said a newly-formed jihadist group, suspected to be led by Jemaah Islamiyah (JI)-trained Abdul Basit Usman, is in Luzon ahead of the five-day visit of Pope Francis this January 2015.

The group of interest, so to speak, is apparently a 15-man so-called Special Operations Group (SOG), a source from the Philippine National Police (PNP), who spoke on condition of not being named, said.

The 15-man team is said to be all comprised of members of the Al Hansar Khilafa, which is claimed to have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

The source, who is known to be well-versed with the movement of local militants, said that the deployment of the SOG from Usman's Group started last June, and may have something to do with the forthcoming visit of the pontiff.

The source said the formation of Usman's group, called the "Bangsamoro Justice Movement (BJM)" may have been disrupted somewhat following the arrest of Khair Mundos this June and that of Ricardo Ayeras of the Rajah Solaiman Movement (RSM).

Mundos, a key leader of the ASG, was suspected to be casing out possible routes to be taken by the Pope when he visits the country from January 15 to 19, while Ayeras was collared by the police in Quezon City early last month over a simple traffic violation.

"This only confirms to us that the operation of the Al Ansar Khilafa is now all over the country ... meaning they are now in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao," the source said.

He claimed that the estimated total combat strength of the Al Hansar Khilafa could be as many as 60 men after it was formed in July 2014, with members assembled from various militant groups around the country.

"Their members come from the Rajah Solaiman Movement-Abu Sayyaf Group of the Isnilon Hapilon faction and Usman's former men with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)," the source said, adding that there are also some members from the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in the Al Hansar Khilafa, with three members of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) also making up the other members of the group.

The source added that the 15-man group of Usman are already in Luzon, with some of them possibly in Metro Manila and in the Southern Tagalog Region and all of them highly trained in handling explosives.

A separate intelligence source had said earlier that a group of foreign jihadists have established a cell in Luzon, and may be plotting a possible attack during the Pontiff's visit this coming January 2015.

That other source acknowledged that he has scant information about the Khilafa Islamiyah in the Visayas, but the terror cell in Luzon, he said, is headed by an Islamic Cleric from Bangladesh with four other foreigners mixed in.

The four foreigners who joined the Bangladeshi cleric, the source said, had just come from Cotabato where they were believed to have also trained some militants in bomb-making and explosives handling.

Chief Supt. Wilben Mayor, the Philippine National Police (PNP) Spokesman, indicated in an interview previously that the police establishment has not monitored any significant threat against Pope Francis' trip.

The PNP has formed Special Task Group Papal Visit 2015, to be headed by Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina, the PNP Deputy Chief for Operation and former chief of the National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO).

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/99397/usman-special-operations-group-in-pnp-radar-ahead-of-popes-visit