MANILA, Oct. 12 (Xinhuanet) -- The southeast Asian terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), which was believed to have links with the al-Qaeda terrorist network, is planning attacks in the southern Philippines, a local TV reported Tuesday.

    Citing intelligence reports gathered by the police and the military, the ABS-CBN news channel said that the JI is planning attacks in Mindanao, particularly in Zamboanga City, before Thursday this week.

    The TV report said that police and military units have been placed on red alert and the tight security inspections have been conducted at establishments that are likely targets including businesses establishments.

    A leader of the Abu Sayyaf kidnap-for-ransom group, Amil Hamja Ajijul, has been sighted in one of the villages in the Zamboanga recently, it said.

    He has been tagged by authorities as the leader of a group that initiated bombings in Zamboanga two years ago, it added.

    The Philippine authorities have been closely monitoring the country's peace and order situation to avert attempts of terrorists to destabilize the country.

    The government earlier noted that unlike in previous years, Mindanao is no longer a haven for terrorists cells, and terrorists will find no hospitable nooks anywhere in the Philippines.

    It also said that the Abu Sayyaf group were also crippled by reducing the number of its members from 1,300 at the start of 2001to 396 hard-core followers by the end of June 2004. Enditem