BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 13, 2009) – Suspected Moro rebels executed one of their two hostages as security forces continue to pursue them in the jungle of Basilan province in the southern Philippines, police said Monday.
Police said villagers found the body of Cosme Aballes, 54, in the hinterlands near Lamitan City on Friday. Local television reports said Aballes head was almost decapitated.
The fate of another hostage, Hernald Chavez, 22, remains unknown, said Senior Superintendent Salik Macapantar, the provincial police chief.
“There is an ongoing operation and troops are pursuing the lawless elements,” he said, referring to the Abu Sayyaf and Moro Islamic Liberation Front tagged by the police and military as behind the April 10 abductions.
Police said the rebels raided a farm and killed one worker in the remote village of Upper Arco in Lamitan City. The motive of the attack was unknown and the MILF said it would verify the reports.
Macapantar said about 40 gunmen were involved in the raid and he tagged Abu Sayyaf commander Puruji Indama and Inting Ramos and MILF leader Usman Lidjal as among those who led the attack.
Sporadic clashes, he said, were also reported over the weekend between troops and rebels, but it was not immediately known whether there were casualties on the rebel side. (Mindanao Examiner)
1 comment:
I don't understand why the AFP cannot catch what Gloria Arroyo once described as a bunch of no more than a few dozen bandits!
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