The region had earlier feared that local Islamic militant groups associated with alleged terror mastermind Osama bin Laden would launch the attacks just when US and British troops stormed into Iraq last month.

But these were largely neutralised by pre-emptive government strikes on suspected terrorist haunts in the Philippines, a large haul of explosives in Malaysia, the busting of an Indonesian cell responsible for the Bali carnage and a security dragnet across the region, analysts say.

"The al-Qaeda links in the region may have been disrupted but not destroyed," said Andrew Tan, security analyst at the Singapore-based Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies.

"One can confidently surmise that they would be planning further attacks given the anger today in the Muslim world over Iraq," Tan said. "They will be able to tap on this anger and the environment will be ripe for them to resume terror attacks."

The constant television broadcasts of jubilation in the streets of Baghdad following virtual control of the country by American and British troops may not necessary reflect global Muslim sentiment, Islamic scholars say.

"These so called terrorists are I think among Muslim groups around the world which are seemingly frustrated by the double standards of the United States," said Abhoud Syed Lingga, chairman of the Bangsa Moro People's Consultative Assembly, the biggest civil society group in the troubled southern Philippines.

"One clear example of their frustrations is the US claim that it has brought democracy to Iraq. What has happened to the Palestine question which has existed even before Iraq," Lingga asked.

"Even in Indonesia, the US says there are many terror groups there but these are the very groups that had existed during ex-President Suharto's dictatorial regime, which had received military aid from the United States."

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the biggest Muslim separatist group in the Philippines, has been linked by Manila to the Jemmah Islamiyah (JI), the Asian chapter of the al-Qaeda.

An urban guerilla squad of the MILF together with five Indonesian suspected JI members allegedly carried out a deadly bombing at a southern Philippine wharf last week, Philippine police intelligence chief Roberto Delfin said.

"We are determined to cut down the entire body of terrorism in the country," Philippine President Gloria Arroyo vowed Wednesday as she announced plans for US troops to take part in joint exercises in a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf, a Filipino Muslim kidnap-for-ransom group also allegedly linked to the al-Qaeda.

Intelligence sources in the region noted that JI operations received multiple blows recently with various arrests in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines.

Among those arrested was Mas Selamat Kastari, identified as the head of a JI cell in Singapore allegedly engaged in a plot to hijack a plane and crash it into the island state's Changi Airport.

Following the arrest of another JI leader, Malaysian police last month discovered a long-sought cache of bomb-making material destined for use against Western targets in Singapore.

The discovery came as Indonesia effectively crushed a JI cell allegedly responsible for the October 12 Bali bomb attack which left more than 200 people dead.

Despite these JI setbacks, regional intelligence sources said, the group was still intact with about 400 to 500 active operatives lurking in the region.

"Given the size and strength of JI, we can expect them to continue operations fairly quicky," security analyst Tan said.

Hambali, JI's senior operations commander whose real name is Riduan Isamuddin and Southeast Asia's most wanted man, remains at large.

SPACE.WIRE