Photo taken by a civilian Alzulfikar Amilhamja from his mobile phone shows the damage to this house after a mortar bomb fired by Abu Sayyaf militants exploded on the village of Busbus in Jolo town in Sulu province late Monday, February 09, 2009. Ten Muslim occupants of this house are wounded in the blast, says Senior Superintendent Julasirim Kasim, the provincial police chief. (Mindanao Examiner)
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 10, 2009) – Ten people were wounded in a mortar attack by Abu Sayyaf militants in the capital town of Jolo in the southern Philippine of Sulu, police said.
Police said the attack late Monday coincided with the rescue operation mounted by government soldiers to spring three Red Cross workers Swiss national Andreas Notter, Italian Eugenio Vagni and Filipino Mary Jean Lacaba kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf on January 15.
“Ten innocent people, all Muslims, were wounded in the attack. The mortar hit a house and wounding all occupants, including teenagers,” Senior Supt. Julasirim Kasim, the provincial police chief, told the Mindanao Examiner.
Kasim said the mortar hit the house in the coastal village of Busbus and other reports said two more rounds fired by the Abu Sayyaf fell in the sea.
Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan condemned the attack on civilians and ordered security forces to secure all vital government installations in the province. “We condemn this attack on civilian targets. Innocent civilians are not spared by this lawless group,” he said.
Security forces pursuing the kidnappers have occupied the hinterland village of Kuppong in Indanan town where the Abu Sayyaf had kept their hostages, police said.
But there were no traces of the aid workers or any of their captives after troops assaulted their lair on Monday afternoon, sparking a firefight that left 11 marines wounded.
“Troops are pursuing the Abu Sayyaf,” Brig. Gen. Gaudencio Pangilinan, chief of the Armed Forces’ Civil Relations Service, said in a separate interview.
Jemaah Islamiya militants led by Malaysian Zulkifli bin Hir also known as Marwan, is believed to be among the Abu Sayyaf holding the hostages. Two more Jemaah Islamiya terrorists Dulmatin and Umar Patek are also said to be hiding in Sulu.
Zulkifli, who also heads the Kumpulun Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM), was believed to be involved in multiple deadly bomb attacks in the Philippines and has been added to most-wanted list of the U.S. Rewards for Justice Program.
The U.S. offered as much as $5-million bounty for the capture of Zulkifli, while Dulmatin carries a $10-million reward on his head and $1-million for Patek. (Mindanao Examiner)
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