MANILA, Philippines -- The military claims to have tracked down the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) bomb expert Dulmatin, following the recent recovery of his four children in Tawi-Tawi province.
Armed Forces spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Bartolome Bacarro said there have been sightings of Dulmatin, but he refused to say where because this could compromise pursuit operations against the Indonesian terror suspect.
"Yes [there were sightings], but I cannot disclose the place," Bacarro told reporters in Camp Aguinaldo.
Asked if troops were closing in on Dulmatin, who children were found by troops in a pre-dawn raid on a suspected terrorist safe house last Friday, Bacarro said: "This is an indicator that our efforts are on track. We will continue doing this."
The military turned over the four to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Manila over the weekend.
In October, troops arrested Dulmatin's wife, Istiada Biti Oemar Sovie, and their two other children for violating immigration laws. They were later deported to Indonesia.
Dulmatin, one of the alleged masterminds of the 2002 bomb attacks in Bali, Indonesia, is reportedly hiding in the island province of Sulu with another JI suspect, Umar Patek.
The two JI militants are reportedly with leaders of the Al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group.
