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CNN Live At Daybreak

Possible Sleeper Cell Arrested in Philippines

Aired March 07, 2002 - 06:31   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A new message this morning from two American missionaries being held hostage in the Philippines. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTIN BURNHAM, HOSTAGE: I, Martin Burnham and my wife Gracia, both U.S. citizens, were taken as captives on May 27, 2001 at the Dos Palmas Beach Resort in Palawan by the Al Harakatul Islamiah, or the Abu Sayyaf group. They are targeting U.S., European, and citizens of other Western nations for the following reasons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: You could see that was a prepared statement. It is being read by Kansas missionary Martin Burnham, and it criticizes the United States for its support of Israel, its sanctions against the Muslim nations of Iraq and Libya, its so-called indifference to the plight of Muslims in various countries, and the U.S. presence in Saudi Arabia, which the statement calls "a desecration".

Since Burnham and his wife were captured last May, 17 other hostages have since been killed or released for ransom. Now the Abu Sayyaf says it is fighting for an independent Islamic state in the southern Philippine islands. The Philippine government says the Abu Sayyaf is a band of mercenaries looking to profit from kidnapping, and U.S. officials say the guerrilla group has ties to the al Qaeda terrorist network.

Filipino authorities have also arrested three men who they suspect as being part of a sleeper cell in Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.

CNN's Maria Ressa is in the Philippine capital of Manila with details on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARIA RESSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Although detained for firearms and immigration violations, the three men are here inside the intelligence headquarters of the Philippine police, two Palestinians and a Jordanian who have lived in the Philippines for more than a decade. Intelligent sources tell CNN they believe they are part of an al Qaeda sleeper cell. According to top-secret documents obtained by CNN, there is more. These men were connected to a 1995 terrorist cell busted here linked to Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law and the man who masterminded the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.

ROILO GOLEZ, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: We're looking at the possibility of some sleeper cells still in the area, set up by, for example, Khalifah maybe through fans that he used to the IRO.

RESSA: The IRO is the Islamic Relief Organization, a front charity group set up by Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law, Mohammed Jamal Khalifah. According to this intelligence report, dated December 1994, Khalifah lived in the Philippines from 1988 to 1994. Authorities then believed he created Islamic charities as a cover to funnel Osama bin Laden's money to extremist groups for terrorist activities.

Palestinian Mohammed Sari Selamah came to the Philippines in 1986. Soon after he helped set up a local chapter of IRO for Khalifah (ph), according to this 1994 intelligence report. Seven years later on November 23, Selamah would be arrested. Intelligence sources tell CNN they suspect he is al Qaeda's point man in the southern Philippines.

Arrested with Selamah, Jordanian Hassan Ali (ph), who came to the Philippines in 1985 and Palestinian Masne Ahmed Abed (ph). We brought our documents to the commissioner of immigration to confirm other links. The three men were high school classmates in Kuwait near the school attended by Ramzi Yousef, the man behind the first World Trade Center bombing. In fact when Masne (ph) first arrived in Manila in 1990, he shared a house with Yousef, who established a terrorist cell here then.

So these documents that you have to show that Masne (ph) was actually a roommate of ...

ANDREA DOMINGO, IMMIGRATION COMMISSIONER: Of yes ...

(CROSSTALK)

DOMINGO: And we are looking into how it could be connected with the total al Qaeda picture, but the more and more that we learn and the net - the farther the net goes, we are able to put if not directly linked, at least people on the map so-called, so that you can see a total picture.

RESSA: A confidential police document says the three men have suspected linkages to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network. And the three were actively involved in recruiting members. A lawyer for these three men vehemently denies these accusations.

So what will happen to these men now detained for more than three months? Authorities are filing criminal charges for illegal possession of firearms and explosives to be followed, they say, by immigration violations. That is all they can do since the Philippines has no terrorism law on the records.

Maria Ressa, CNN, Manila.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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