Abu Sayyaf Terror Group Behind Makati Blast?

The bombing attack which killed at least nine people and injured more than 100 in Makati, the financial center of the Philippines, could be staged by the Abu Sayyaf terrorists, said a senior Filipino official on Saturday. National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales told local radio that based on intelligence reports, "a terrorist group" was raising funds from foreign sponsors and "needed to convince prospective donors". "One of the intelligence reports we received was that a terrorist group is raising funds. If you can't show you mean business, you cannot get funds," Gonzales said in an interview on dzRH radio.The number of dead in Friday's bombing attack upon the popular Glorietta shopping mall in Makati, Metro Manila, has risen to nine, while about 100 are still being treated in hospital, said police on Saturday. Gonzalez would not name Abu Sayyaf as the group who staged the attack. Abu Sayyaf, which has ties with the Indonesia-based Jemaah Islamiyah and the Al-Qaeda international terrorist network, recently took to Internet-based video-sharing sites such as YouTube, to appeal to prospective donors for funds from abroad, according to Filipino intelligence officials.