Manila - The Philippines linked the country's biggest Muslim rebel group yesterday to the bombing of two Manila shopping malls and police said they had arrested 26 militants, one of them allegedly trained in Malaysia.
Meanwhile, on the remote southern island of Jolo, government negotiators said they were "within striking distance" of a deal for the release of 21 mostly foreign hostages held for 36 days by another separatist Muslim group, Abu Sayyaf.
