ZAMBOANGA CITY, 11 December 2006 — Authorities tightened security yesterday as troops mounted a massive search for four men, including a rebel linked to a bomb attack, who escaped from a prison facility in Cotabato City in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Three men armed with assault rifles stormed the provincial prison on Saturday afternoon and sprang Badrudin Dalungan, a member of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and a suspect in the bombing of Awang airport in 2003.

“Troops are helping police forces track down the four men. They are armed and dangerous and civilians should immediately report to authorities if they see these people,” Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, a regional army spokesman, told Arab News. One prison guard was wounded in the attack.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu admitted that Dalungan was a member of the MILF, but said the group was unaware of his escape. He said the MILF is willing to help authorities find Dalungan and negotiate for his surrender.

“We are willing to help if the government asks our assistance,” he said in a separate interview.

Authorities said one person was killed in the airport bombing that was also blamed by the government on the radical Rajah Solaiman Movement, said to be a group of Christians who converted to Islam.

The Philippine military alleged that some MILF commanders have sheltered the Rajah Solaiman militants in Mindanao, but this was denied by the rebel group, which is currently negotiating peace with Manila.

Last year, the chieftain of the Rajah Solaiman group, Ahmed Santos, was arrested in Zamboanga City and authorities linked him to the spate of bombings in Manila and Mindanao. Santos denied all the charges.