Three Indonesians were arrested this week at Manila's international airport for possessing components for explosives, police said today.
The three men are suspected of being members of a group linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network. They were intercepted while about to leave the country for Bangkok on Wednesday night, amd components for improvised explosives were found in their baggage, police said.
Charges have been filed against the three in the Pasay regional trial court in Manila for illegal possession of explosives.
The court has recommended a bail of 200,000 pesos ($3,921) each for the temporary release of the three, who are in jail at the police headquarters in Manila.
Police said they have been monitoring the three on suspicion they were connected with another suspected member of the radical group Jemaah Islamiah, Indonesian Fathur Rohman Al Ghozi, who was arrested in the Philippines early this year.
Authorities linked Jemaah Islamiah, believed to be co-ordinating militant activity in southeast Asia, to the al-Qaeda network of bin Laden.