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A bio-terror manual and traces of possible biological weapons were recovered in a raid on an apartment said to be Jemaah Islamiah hideout in the southern Philippine city of Cotabato, the army said on Monday.
Agency reports quoted local police as saying that up to eight local and foreign JI suspects escaped Sunday's raid in central Cotabato but left behind what Vice-chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Rodolfo Garcia described as possible residues of a 'tetanus virus-carrying chemical'. Bomb-making materials, documents and notes on assembling rocket-propelled grenades were also found.
Speaking to a television network, he said: "Residues of chemicals found there are still being analysed by chemical experts of the police. These were not found in bulk, and it takes time to determine' whether they are indeed biological weapons. We were able to get quite a number of documents that would be quite significant in the course of further anti-terrorist operations."
The Jaamat has been blamed for a series of bombings in the region, and is said to be linked to the Al Qaeda. The raid came a day after US President George Bush's visit to Manila. Indonesian Taufiq Rifqi, described by the Filipino authorities as the outfit's second-in command, was arrested from Cotabato two weeks ago.