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CNN Live At Daybreak
Terror Link Between Northern Ireland, Philippines
Aired February 20, 2004 - 06:28 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: We are learning more about what President Bush is calling the shadowy network of terror.
Our Maria Ressa has been checking out a terror link between Northern Ireland and the Philippines.
So let's head live to Manila now and talk with Maria -- Maria, tell us more about this link.
MARIA RESSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, it really highlights, really, the hidden front in the war on terror. Investigators across the world tracking down a network from Northern Ireland, a Filipino named Jaybe Ofrasio connected to Indonesian in Malaysia -- connected to an al Qaeda operative now in Philippine custody, an Indonesian operative named Kafik Refki (ph).
So you see just from -- based on this particular link a network that goes from the Philippines to Malaysia to Northern Ireland. What's interesting about it is that the man who was arrested early this month in Northern Ireland, Jaybe Ofrasio, actually played a very key role in creating a network in the southern Philippines. His arrest -- and now he is awaiting trial in a Northern Ireland court -- he basically will help authorities in the Philippines try to dismantle the network -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I was just going to ask you, just to make sure that our audience understands, that this man who was arrested in Northern Ireland was really found by accident and the group he belongs to in the Philippines is connected to al Qaeda, right?
RESSA: Absolutely. The group is called Jama'at Islamia. It is the same group that was behind the Bali attacks in October of 2002 and on the attacks against the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta in August, just last year. It's a group that has trained thousands of militants across Southeast Asia and also a group that has had a direct link to the 9/11 attacks through al Qaeda operatives like Hambali (ph), who is now in U.S. custody.
What's interesting about this group is that the information that led the Northern Ireland police to arrest this Filipino man came from an al Qaeda operative, a J.I. operative now in Philippine custody. And, actually, it's been the work of investigators from Australia, from the United States and from the Philippines that has brought to light this network. It shows you what authorities around the world are doing, that they're going country by country, man by man, to try to bring down this network.
COSTELLO: Great reporting work.
Maria Ressa live from Manila in the Philippines this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired February 20, 2004 - 06:28 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We are learning more about what President Bush is calling the shadowy network of terror.
Our Maria Ressa has been checking out a terror link between Northern Ireland and the Philippines.
So let's head live to Manila now and talk with Maria -- Maria, tell us more about this link.
MARIA RESSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, it really highlights, really, the hidden front in the war on terror. Investigators across the world tracking down a network from Northern Ireland, a Filipino named Jaybe Ofrasio connected to Indonesian in Malaysia -- connected to an al Qaeda operative now in Philippine custody, an Indonesian operative named Kafik Refki (ph).
So you see just from -- based on this particular link a network that goes from the Philippines to Malaysia to Northern Ireland. What's interesting about it is that the man who was arrested early this month in Northern Ireland, Jaybe Ofrasio, actually played a very key role in creating a network in the southern Philippines. His arrest -- and now he is awaiting trial in a Northern Ireland court -- he basically will help authorities in the Philippines try to dismantle the network -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I was just going to ask you, just to make sure that our audience understands, that this man who was arrested in Northern Ireland was really found by accident and the group he belongs to in the Philippines is connected to al Qaeda, right?
RESSA: Absolutely. The group is called Jama'at Islamia. It is the same group that was behind the Bali attacks in October of 2002 and on the attacks against the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta in August, just last year. It's a group that has trained thousands of militants across Southeast Asia and also a group that has had a direct link to the 9/11 attacks through al Qaeda operatives like Hambali (ph), who is now in U.S. custody.
What's interesting about this group is that the information that led the Northern Ireland police to arrest this Filipino man came from an al Qaeda operative, a J.I. operative now in Philippine custody. And, actually, it's been the work of investigators from Australia, from the United States and from the Philippines that has brought to light this network. It shows you what authorities around the world are doing, that they're going country by country, man by man, to try to bring down this network.
COSTELLO: Great reporting work.
Maria Ressa live from Manila in the Philippines this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
