October 13, 2003, The Philippine Star, AFP: Al-Ghozi not yet in our custody, by Mike Frialde, Edith Regalado,

October 13, 2003, The Philippine Star, AFP: Al-Ghozi not yet in our custody, by Mike Frialde, Edith Regalado,

MANILA, OCTOBER 13, 2003 (STAR) Fugitive terrorist Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi has not neither been captured nor is he in military custody, the Armed Forces said yesterday.

Lt. Gen. Rodolfo Garcia, Armed Forces vice chief, said there is no truth to reports that the military has arrested Al-Ghozi in Cotabato City.

"I am denying that report," he said. "He (Al-Ghozi) is still somewhere in the Zamboanga area."

But a source in Davao City told The STAR yesterday the Indonesian is being kept in the mountains in the Zamboanga provinces, and that he would "turn up dead" before US President George W. Bush visits the country on Saturday.

"The announcement of the death of Indonesian fugitive Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi would reportedly be timed shortly before Bush’s arrival," the source said.

"There seems to finally be an agreement between the handlers of Al-Ghozi and those tasked by government to negotiate for his turnover to authorities."

The STAR learned that the captors of Al-Ghozi want $300,000 or P16.5 million before his body is delivered to authorities.

The government reportedly insists on Al-Ghozi dead to help redeem its "anti-terrorism credentials" following his escape from Camp Crame in Quezon City last July 14.

However, the source said it would have "little effect" on the Bush visit because Hambali, the top Jemaah Islamiyah official, has already been captured in Thailand.

Meanwhile, Garcia has denied reports that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has been protecting Al-Ghozi.

"We don’t not want to engage in fingerpointing with the MILF here," he said. "The MILF has been cooperating with us in the hunt for Al-Ghozi."

Al-Ghozi bolted Camp Crame with two Abu Sayyaf terrorists, Omar Opik Lasal and Abdulmukim Ong Edris.

Lasal was arrested in at a military checkpoint in the coastal town of Dumalinao, Zamboanga del Sur last Wednesday.

Edris was killed in Sultan Kudarat last August after he reportedly tried to grab the rifle of a soldier while he was guiding the troops to Al-Ghozi's hideout. — Mike Frialde, Edith Regalado