MANILA, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Government forces have captured a suspected Filipino member of the Southeast Asian regional terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) following a clash with his group in the southern Philippines, the military said on Monday.
Reynaldo Mapagu, spokesman of the Philippine Army's 10th Infantry Division, said the suspect, Giovanni de Ocampo, is a former member of the New People's Army (NPA) who joined the JI, which has funded a number of bombings by local bandit group Abu Sayyaf in the country.
De Ocampo was captured following a brief clash early Sunday morning in Pantukan town, Compostela Valley Province while his four followers were able to escape, said the spokesman.
Mapagu said de Ocampo was turned over to the custody of the Pantukan town police station Monday morning for the filing of a charge of illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
"According to our initial investigation, he is a former NPA who joined the JI. We are validating his statement that he is a teacher. He is supposedly teaching bomb making," Mapagu said.
A statement released by the 10th Infantry Division described Ocampo as a "trainer-expert in manufacturing IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) that has caused deaths of innocent civilians and destruction of properties" in the southern region of Mindanao.
"His capture pre-empted another plan to conduct bombing operations in the whole of Mindanao, particularly in the urban centers such as Davao, General Santos, and Kidapawan," according to the statement.
Mapagu said the intelligence operatives are further checking on the background of de Ocampo, "including their plans if there is any."
"There is an ongoing tactical interrogation, custodial debriefing, and the intelligence units have yet to come out with the results," he added.
Mapagu could not say how many foreign and Filipino JI members are operating in Mindanao. The foreign leaders of the JI in the country are, reportedly, in the company of Abu Sayyaf fighters in Western Mindanao.
