Philippine security forces have arrested two Muslim militants with alleged links to a pair of Indonesians wanted in the 2002 Bali bombings, an official said Thursday, dpa reported.
Eduardo Ermita, chief of the Philippine anti-terrorism council, said Mokasin Dilna, a leader of the militant al-Khobar group, which has been accused of bombings and extortion, was arrested on January 29 in Zamboanga City, 875 kilometres south of Manila.
Omar Venancio, a close associate of senior members in the Philippines of the regional terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), was arrested January 7 in Cotabato City, 930 kilometres south of Manila, he added.
Both men have been linked to Dulmatin and Omar Patek, both JI members wanted by the United States, Australia and Indonesia for the 2002 nightclub bombings on Bali, which killed 202 people.
Ermita said Dilna, who is also known as Mokasid Adil, was responsible for training South-East Asian militants in the 1990s and hosted JI associates from outside the country, including Patek and Dulmatin and his family.
Most of the foreign JI associates who travelled to the Philippines and were later arrested told authorities that Dilna was among the first people they had contact with upon their arrival and he helped them while they were in the country, the anti-terrorism official said.
Ermita added that Dilna trained Venancio in bombmaking and introduced him to Patek.
"Receipts of bombing-making materials were found in [Venancio's] possession when he was captured," Ermita said. "He later disclosed that the items were for the improvised explosive devices intended to bomb a cathedral and a beach resort" in Davao province.
The United States has offered a reward of up to 10 million dollars for the capture of Dulmatin and up to 1 million dollars for Patek.
Patek is believed to be hiding in the southern Philippines while Philippine authorities said they found a body believed to be Dulmatin's a year ago in the southern province of Tawi-Tawi.