Terrorists Redefining Our Terms
Troops clash with rebels in Zamboanga City
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Government soldiers captured two suspected Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels after a firefight in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines, officials said Saturday.
Officials said at least three rebels arrived by boat at a Muslim enclave called Mariqui, but local residents tipped off the military about their presence and troops clashed with the gunmen.
The fighting lasted more than ten minutes until soldiers, led by Army Col. Santiago Baluyot, commander of the anti-terror task force, surrounded and captured two rebels.
He alleged that the two rebels are members of the MILF’s Special Operations Group, blamed for the series of kidnappings and bombings in the southern Philippines.
Its leader Abdul Basit Usman is wanted by both the Philippines and the United States for his role on the spate of bombings in Mindanao.
The MILF has disowned Usman long ago, but the military insists that the terror leader is a member of the rebel group under the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Force’s 105th Base Command.
Washington offered up to $50,000 for information leading to Usman’s apprehension under the Government Rewards Program.
“Abdul Basit Usman is a known terrorist with links to Jemaah Islamiyah and believed responsible for bombings in Mindanao in October 2006 that killed eight innocent civilians and left 30 others wounded. He is also implicated in a recent series of bomb attacks in Mindanao that killed seven and wounded 37 others,” US authorities said.
The MILF is the country’s largest Muslim rebel group fighting for a separate homeland in Mindanao.
Is nothing sacred to these people?
photo credit: Thomas Hawk
December 5th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
i took a course on Southeast Asian politics (which includes the Philippines, but my paper was on Indonesia) and as a result that is an old joke. but it doesn’t get old. if the group has female members, then it can (probably) truly live up to its name.