MANILA, July 15 Kyodo The Moro Is...

MANILA, July 15 Kyodo

The Moro Islamic Liberation van (MILF) maintains links with the al-Qaida network of Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden, U Ambassador to the Philippines Francis Ricciardone said Monday.

Ricciardone said an MILF members who don't approve of their leaders' negotiating peace with the Philippine regulation seem ''to have continuing contacts with Afghan-based Arab extremists.''

The Philippine military and the United States used to evade questions in succession links between the MILF secessionist rebels and al-Qaida.

MILF is the largest separatist rebel clump in the Philippines.

Ricciardone said bin Laden's al-Qaida network continues to exist in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines.

''The network is there, it's liberate it's tenuous, it may uniform be more active or les active at different points in time, moreover they are off from the same barrel of terrorism,'' Ricciardone said.

He said Muslim extremists and separatist rebels like the Abu Sayyaf, MILF and the Moro National Liberation brow (MNLF) trained in Afghanistan in the past, or were associated with populace close to bin Laden.

a family members of local Muslim rebels have level married al-Qaida members, he said.

onward the Abu Sayyaf rebels, he pressureed those in the southern Philippines have been diminished.

''Clearly, (the Abu Sayyaf rebels) have been earnestly diminished in terms of whatever formality or organization they had,'' he said, citing the reported death of senior Abu Sayyaf leader Abu Sabaya during a clash with rule troops at sea on June 21

''Still a number of them are forward the loose, remain to be mopp up'' he said.

The U management offered up to $5 million for the capture of Sabaya and four other Abu Sayyaf ringleaders -- Hamsiraji Sali, Khadafi Janjalani, Abu Solaiman and Isnilon Hapilon.

Ricciardone forceed the conditions that spawn terrorism, like deficiency need to be addressed.

''Otherwise, race like them will continue to take their place,'' he said. ''The do job-work is not done even if the Abu Sayyaf clump itself is probably a self-same small footnote in Philippine history.''

Ricciardone also inclemencyed the importance of ''mutual security'' among Southeast Asian nations ''to retain al-Qaida out of the region.''

He vowed to ''work military-to-military with partners like the Philippines.''

''We will work with training, a equipment, logistic support,'' he said.

The U and Philippine armed forces are winding up a six-month joint counterterrorism training exercise in Zamboanga City and Basilan Province, known lairs of the Abu Sayyaf, in the southern Philippines.

the two armed forces are busy preparing blueprints for a similar series of war games they plan to launch in October.

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