Manila - The Philippines' justice department approved on Tuesday the filing of criminal charges against a Bangladeshi man suspected of being a terrorist. State prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera said there was probable cause to charge Mohammad Rafiq Ullah with illegal possession of explosives.
Ullah is a suspected bomb-maker of the regional Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist group.
He was arrested on December 8, 2008 in his rented apartment in Sultan Mastura town outside Cotabato City, 930 kilometres south of Manila.
Police recovered several bomb-making materials including a grenade shell with explosive filler and blasting cap from Ullah's apartment.
They also seized two backpacks containing two 81-millimetre mortar shells, electrical wires and switches.
Military intelligence officers said more than 50 JI operatives and recruits are hiding in the strife-torn southern region of Mindanao.
Authorities accused the group of conniving with Al-Qaeda-linked Muslim Abu Sayyaf rebels in several deadly terrorist attacks in Mindanao and nearby areas.
