Plot to assassinate Philippine President uncovered, officials say

by Jarrett Martineau | February 14, 2008 at 03:43 am | 432 views | add comment

No further details have been released, however, Phillippine officials claim the planned assassination has ties to Al-Qaeda and several other Islamist extremist groups.

Authorities have uncovered an al-Qaida-linked plot to assassinate the president of the Philippines, officials said Thursday.
"Other people" and foreign embassies also were targets of planned terror bombings, said Brig. Gen. Romeo Prestoza, head of the Presidential Security Group.

The alleged plot against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo prompted the cancellation of her visit to the Philippines' premier military academy this weekend.

The plot allegedly was hatched by the extremist Abu Sayyaf group and its Indonesia-based ally, Jemaah Islamiyah, military chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon said.