Chinese- Filipino traders in the southern Philippines on Tuesday expressed fear for their safety amid possible new security threats there.
Oscan Tan Abing, president of Cotabato Grocers Association in this southern city, said he has received a message on his mobile phone over fresh bombing threats.
Those terror threats, Tan said, cause fear and worry among his fellow Chinese-Filipino traders.
On Monday, government security forces defused a homemade bomb left by unknown men along the national highway in the township of Talayan in Maguindanao province.
"It only indicates the threats are accurate," said Tan.
According to the military, foreign militants and their local counterparts are reportedly planning to carry out series of terror attacks, prompting the tightening up of security measures in the region.
Major General Arthur Tabaquero, head of military in Eastern Mindanao region, said they received intelligence reports of possible attacks by Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militants.
Militants and their recruits, led by Basit Usman, are planning to plant bombs in different public places in Mindanao region, said Tabaquero, citing the report they gathered that militants have been tasked to bomb churches, public markets, and bus terminals.
In October, at least 10 people were killed when militants detonated a homemade bomb they planted inside a passenger bus in the town of Matalam in North Cotabato province.
Terrorists hiding in the country include JI bomb experts Omar Patek and Dulmatin, both accused of several bombings in the region.
Patek is believed to have served as the assistant for the field coordinator of the Bali bombings while Dulmatin, his companion and an electronics specialist with training in al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan, is a senior figure of JI.
Another terrorist is Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan, who has been in the country since 2003 and has a five-million- dollar bounty for his arrest.
Oscan Tan Abing, president of Cotabato Grocers Association in this southern city, said he has received a message on his mobile phone over fresh bombing threats.
Those terror threats, Tan said, cause fear and worry among his fellow Chinese-Filipino traders.
On Monday, government security forces defused a homemade bomb left by unknown men along the national highway in the township of Talayan in Maguindanao province.
"It only indicates the threats are accurate," said Tan.
According to the military, foreign militants and their local counterparts are reportedly planning to carry out series of terror attacks, prompting the tightening up of security measures in the region.
Major General Arthur Tabaquero, head of military in Eastern Mindanao region, said they received intelligence reports of possible attacks by Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militants.
Militants and their recruits, led by Basit Usman, are planning to plant bombs in different public places in Mindanao region, said Tabaquero, citing the report they gathered that militants have been tasked to bomb churches, public markets, and bus terminals.
In October, at least 10 people were killed when militants detonated a homemade bomb they planted inside a passenger bus in the town of Matalam in North Cotabato province.
Terrorists hiding in the country include JI bomb experts Omar Patek and Dulmatin, both accused of several bombings in the region.
Patek is believed to have served as the assistant for the field coordinator of the Bali bombings while Dulmatin, his companion and an electronics specialist with training in al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan, is a senior figure of JI.
Another terrorist is Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan, who has been in the country since 2003 and has a five-million- dollar bounty for his arrest.
