Australia warns of bombs in southern Philippines
Source: Reuters
MANILA, Jan 8 (Reuters) - The Australian embassy in Manila warned on Monday that militants could be planning to bomb cities in the southern Philippines this week when 16 Asian leaders will gather in the central Philippines for a rescheduled summit. The Australian government has already warned its citizens to stay away from the central island of Cebu while the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other East Asian countries meet there on Jan 10-15. Canberra's original warning about Cebu came days before the original summit was cancelled last month, ostensibly due to a typhoon. The Canadian, British and U.S. government had given similar warnings. In an updated travel advisory on Monday, the Australian embassy warned that terror attacks could occur between Jan. 9 and 16 in the southern city of Davao. "Recent credible information indicates terrorists may be in the advanced stages of attack planning," it said. "Davao City may be a particular target." ASEAN leaders from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos, the Philippines, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam will meet this weekend before holding an East Asia Summit with their counterparts from China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand. The Philippines is battling a nationwide communist insurgency and Muslim rebellions in the south. On Monday, a suspect was arrested in connection with the Feb. 14, 2005 bombing in Manila's business district that killed six people, police said. Chief Superintendent Romeo Ricardo said the suspect, a Muslim convert known as Abdul Karim, was arrested during a raid at his hideout in Quezon province, south of the capital. Last year, three of his accomplices were sentenced to death by lethal injection, but the government has since abolished capital punishment.
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