Philippine intelligence operatives have arrested an Iraqi explosives expert who has eluded the local authorities since last year and were checking whether he had been in contact with Filipino militant groups, the police said Monday. Iraq tipped off the Philippines about the presence of Taja Mohammad Al Jabori. However, the arrest was due to visa problems rather than any evidence of militant activity, the police chief emphasized. Ronald dela Rosa said Al Jabori confessed to being a chemist and rocket and explosives expert working for Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement or Hamas, a militant Islamist group that has been waging war on Israel.