November 18, 2002, AP Worldstream, Abu Sayyaf planned to bomb overpass to hit Catholic, economic symbols,

November 18, 2002, AP Worldstream, Abu Sayyaf planned to bomb overpass to hit Catholic, economic symbols,

Dateline: MANILA, Philippines Muslim extremists planned to blow up a major highway overpass as part of a devastating symbolic attack on economic, religious and government targets in the Philippine capital, a high-ranking military official said Monday.

The overpass along the EDSA highway was one of the top priorities on a list of targets disclosed by a captured bomb expert belonging to the Abu Sayyaf, a Muslim extremist group that officials have linked to the al-Qaida terror network.

Troops arrested Abdulmukim Edris, 30, last week in suburban Pasay city. Military officials earlier revealed that the U.S. Embassy, Manila stock exchange and shopping malls were also targeted by the Abu Sayyaf.

The attack on the highway overpass in metropolitan Manila was to be carried out with a powerful truck bomb, the high-ranking official said on condition of anonymity. It was supposed to destroy a passing train, a Catholic shrine, a government building and a business center.

"It was an ideal target. They'll blow up the overpass and hit Catholic, economic and government symbols at the same time," the official said.

The EDSA overpass is on a historic site where two massive public protests, dubbed "people power" revolts, ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and President Joseph Estrada last year. The Roman Catholic church, which backed the two revolts, built a shrine to the two events, featuring a large statue of the Virgin Mary.

Also in the area are the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency, the Ortigas business and shopping center and an elevated train line.

Edris allegedly headed a group of Abu Sayyaf guerrillas on southern Basilan island who were trained last year by two unidentified Middle Eastern nationals to make car and truck bombs. Military ordnance experts who tested Edris' bomb-making skills were convinced of his expertise, the official said.

Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khaddafy Janjalani last month ordered Edris to make the truck bomb using five to six drums of ammonium nitrate to be detonated using either a watch or a cell phone while a train was passing, the official said, adding that the bomb maker was waiting for the materials to be delivered by fellow guerrillas when he was caught.

"There was no specific timetable for the overpass attack. It depended on when the logistics would arrive," the official said. He said security in the area has been bolstered.

Military Chief of Staff Gen. Benjamin Defensor said Edris faces murder and kidnapping charges after being "implicated by his own cohorts" in at least four bombings in southern Zamboanga city last month that killed 12 people and injured more than 200 other people.

Defensor said Edris, who carries a 1-million-peso (about US$18,800) reward on his head, also was the "mastermind" in the bombing of a food court in Zamboanga in October 2001, killing six people and injuring 50 others.

He also allegedly participated in the raid on the Dos Palmas resort in which the Abu Sayyaf seized three Americans and 17 Filipinos in May 2001. It was the start of a yearlong kidnapping spree in which more than 100 people were eventually abducted.

The Abu Sayyaf has been loosely linked by U.S. and Philippines authorities to the al-Qaida terrorist network.