BASILAN ISLAND (Mindanao Examiner / 16 Jul) – Gunmen ambushed a suspected Abu Sayyaf militant on Monday in the southern Filipino island of Basilan, where the al-Qaeda-linked terror group is believed to be holding a kidnapped Italian Catholic clergy, the military said.
At least 7 gunmen were involved in the killing of Dayasir Wakil, who was included in the military’s order of battle, in the hinterland village of Tumahubong near Sumisip town.
The attack on Wakil was believed to have been carried out by a rival faction, the military said.
Troops are tracking down a group of Abu Sayyaf militants and rogue members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front said to be holding Fr Giancarlo Bossi.
Last week, fourteen soldiers were killed, ten of them beheaded, and nine more wounded after MILF rebels attacked them in Basilan’s Al-Barka town.
The soldiers were searching for the 57-year old Bossi, kidnapped on June 10 in Zamboanga Sibugay province. The killing is now threatening the government’s seven-year old peace talks with the MILF, the country’s largest Muslim rebel group.
The MILF said the day-long clashes, which left 5 of its fighters dead, broke out after troops entered a rebel territory.
The killing was so gruesome that President Gloria Arroyo ordered troops to hunt down those responsible in the beheading. (Mindanao Examiner)
No comments:
Post a Comment