The Philippines has been ranked as the Southeast Asian nation with the most number of active terrorist groups, local reports said on Monday, citing information provided by the US National Counterterrorism Center.

The US agency listed 10 terrorist groups operating in the Philippines, saying that terrorist-related attacks against the government and Philippine citizens numbered at least 25 for the first five months of 2005.

Such groups in the list are: Abdurajak Janjalani Brigade, Abu Sayyaf Group, Alex Boncayao Brigade, Free Vietnam Revolutionary Group, Indigenous People's Federal Army, Jemaah Islamiyah, Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia, Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), New People's Army (NPA) and al-Qaeda.

Of the groups tagged in the Philippines, the most prominent organizations are the Abu Sayyaf, Jema'ah Islamiyah, NPA and al- Qaeda.

The Counterterrorism Center has a total of 786 groups in its database, 36 of which operate in Southeast Asia and the Oceania region.

Source: Xinhua