Manila, Philippines: An Islamist plot to bomb a Manila shopping mall as US President Donald Trump and other world leaders arrived in the city for a summit has been foiled, Philippine police said Friday.
Three alleged members of the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group were arrested on November 10, authorities said, a day before leaders began descending on the capital for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit and other meetings.
"A terror attack could have happened if not for that interdiction," the police said in a statement, adding that pistols and grenades were seized from the suspects.
The summit meetings were held in sealed off venues to which access was strictly limited.
The posts included photos of powerful firearms and improvised explosive devices, with captions saying they would be used to kill "kaffir" (non-Muslims) and "munafiq" (apostates).
However, police added they had asked prosecutors to file charges against the three for having unlicensed handguns, not in relation to a bomb plot.
The alleged terrorists included two 19-year-olds and a 24-year-old. They were living in a northern Manila slum, largely populated by Muslim migrants. Police said the men came from the remote island of Basilan, an Abu Sayyaf stronghold around 900 kilometres south of the capital.
A faction in Basilan recently pledged allegiance to the ISIS. It besieged the southern city of Marawi in May, sparking a five-month battle with government forces that left over a thousand dead.
Three alleged members of the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group were arrested on November 10, authorities said, a day before leaders began descending on the capital for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit and other meetings.
"A terror attack could have happened if not for that interdiction," the police said in a statement, adding that pistols and grenades were seized from the suspects.
The summit meetings were held in sealed off venues to which access was strictly limited.
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The posts included photos of powerful firearms and improvised explosive devices, with captions saying they would be used to kill "kaffir" (non-Muslims) and "munafiq" (apostates).
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However, police added they had asked prosecutors to file charges against the three for having unlicensed handguns, not in relation to a bomb plot.
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The alleged terrorists included two 19-year-olds and a 24-year-old. They were living in a northern Manila slum, largely populated by Muslim migrants. Police said the men came from the remote island of Basilan, an Abu Sayyaf stronghold around 900 kilometres south of the capital.
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A faction in Basilan recently pledged allegiance to the ISIS. It besieged the southern city of Marawi in May, sparking a five-month battle with government forces that left over a thousand dead.
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