Military warned of prison-break plans

MANILA — In a major embarrassment for the Philippine government, the military said yesterday it had warned that suspected militants linked to al Qaeda were planning a prison escape just days before their breakout.

The escape by 53 prison inmates on Saturday overshadowed President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s statements that the government is making gains in its campaign against terrorists. She recently had met with U.S. officials to address their fears about new terror threats.

The military said the escape — led by several members of the al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf militant group — was a setback to the country’s counterterrorism efforts. Eleven of the escapees from the jail on the southern island of Basilan later were recaptured and eight were killed, provincial jail warden Jumadil Sali said.

“I’ve lost men in capturing some of those who escaped; a lot of efforts were exerted,” said Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero. “This will greatly affect the momentum in our fight against terrorism, particularly in Basilan, but this should not deter us from recapturing them.”

Col. Lucero said the military had warned officials at the Basilan jail that the Abu Sayyaf suspects were planning to escape. Military officials had asked that additional guards be posted at the jail, but it wasn’t immediately clear whether that had been done.

Security forces continued a massive hunt for the escapees, who took two rifles and a shotgun and wounded at least three guards.

Mrs. Arroyo, a leading U.S. ally, said setbacks in the war on terror were inevitable.

“We have had victories, but in every war, things that we don’t want to happen do happen,” she told reporters.

The escape — one of several in recent months — comes at a bad time for Mrs. Arroyo. She faces re-election in a vote a month away, and polls show her in a dead heat with an action-film star.

Officials were trying to determine how many Abu Sayyaf guerrillas were among the escapees. One was a rebel with the nom de guerre Abu Black, who was implicated in several kidnappings and killings, Mr. Sali said.

Last year, Indonesian Fathur Rohman Al Ghozi, a suspected bomb expert in the regional Jemaah Islamiyah terror network, escaped with two Filipino militants from the tightly guarded national police headquarters in Manila. Police later killed him.

A Western diplomat said yesterday American officials expressed concern to Mrs. Arroyo last month about reports of possible terror threats in the country and urged her to “stay focused” in the fight against terrorists.