The military intelligence team that conducted surveillance on al-Ghozi leading to his arrest in the commercial district of Manila in January, 2002, has been recalled to help hunt him down again, Colonel Daniel Lucero said.

The team is familiar with al-Ghozi and his contacts and could provide valuble assistance to the police who are searching for the Indonesian fugitive, the colonel said.

However he would not give any details on the manhunt for al-Ghozi, who slipped out of the Philippine police headquarters jail on July 14, much to the embarrassment of President Gloria Arroyo.

His escape, along with two members of the Abu Sayyaf Muslim kidnapping group, has harmed the Philippines' image as a reliable ally in the international war against terror. It has also raised questions of possible police connivance in the jailbreak.

Six police guards are facing administrative charges while four are also facing criminal charges after security at the jail was exposed as extremely lax, with guards to the easily-opened cells either absent or asleep.

Al-Ghozi was convicted last year after confessing to using part of a huge explosives cache to blow up a Manila train and other targets in December 2000, killing 22 people.

He said he planned to ship the rest to Singapore as part of a JI plot to blow up Western embassies there.

WAR.WIRE