Manila (Philippines), Oct 13: President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo today praised security forces for an operation that killed one of Asia's most-wanted terror suspects, whose escape from Philippine police headquarters three months ago embarrassed the government. "The death of (Fathur Roman) Al-Ghozi signals that terrorism will never get far in the Philippines and that the long arm of the law will eventually get them," Arroyo said in a statement, adding "this event should lift much of the anxieties of our people”.
"I would like to commend all military and police forces involved," she said.
Police reported that Al-Ghozi, a suspected bomb maker for the al-Qaida-linked terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah, was killed in a shootout with a joint police-military team yesterday.
Security forces tried to stop a van with two men on board in Pigkawayan town in southern north Cotabato province, but instead of stopping, the men opened fire at police and the army, the Philippine national police report said.
One of the men was able to escape in the darkness, while the other - who turned out to be al-Ghozi - was wounded and later died in a hospital.
"The identity of the body was later confirmed to be that of Fathur Roman al-Ghozi, based on the comparison of the fingerprints of the cadaver, which matched with the suspect's fingerprint records on file with the PNP laboratory," it said. Bureau Report