COTABATO CITY (Zamboanga Journal / 03 Feb) Suspected Abu Sayyaf gunmen attacked before dawn Friday a group of farm workers in Jolo island in the southern Philippines, killing at least five people, including an infant, and wounding four othes, officials said on Friday.
Officials said the gunmen, clad in camouflage uniform, raided the farm around 1.30 a.m. in the remote village of Liang in Patikul town. "Five peole are confirmed dead and four others are also wounded in the attack," said Brigadier General Alexander Aleo, the island's military chief.
He said troops were sent to the town on Friday to track down the attackers, believed to be members of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group.
"Survivors of the carnage told military investigators that the attackers asked them if they were Christian and when they answered yes, the gunmen just opened fire," Aleo told the Zamboanga Journal.
Survivors said the attackers had long hair and were wearing camouflage pants and armed with automatic weapons, a separate military report said.
Maj. Gamal Hayudini, a spokesman for the military's Southern Command, said some 20 gunmen attacked the farm. "We believed this has something to do with family feud," he said without elaborating.
Hayudini identified those killed as Itting Pontilla, 45; Emma Casipong, 16; Melanie Patinga, 9 months; Selma Patinga and Pedro Casipong. And the wounded as Norde Patinga, 38; Jason Patinga, 3, Jennifer Pontilla, 19; and Lucring Casipong, 50.
The attack came barely a week after 20 people had been wounded in separate attacks by unidentified men in Patikul and Jolo towns.
On Wednesday, Abu Sayyaf gunmen killed a father and his son in Jolo's Busbus village on suspiscion the man was a military spy. The group has previously attacked and killed dozens of civilians suspected of aiding the military on the island.
Abu Sayyaf militants also fired two rounds of rifle grenades Tuesday near a military post in Jolo's Indanan town where troops, from the 53rd Infantry Battalion, are stationed, although there were no reports os casualties.
The latest Abu Sayyaf attack occured just ahead of next week's joint antiterror training exercise between the United States and the Philippines in Jolo.
Washington listed the Abu Sayyaf, blamed by Manila to the spate of killings and bombings in the strife-torn region, as a foreign terrorist organization and offered as much as $5 million dollars bounty for the group's known leaders.
Officials said the gunmen, clad in camouflage uniform, raided the farm around 1.30 a.m. in the remote village of Liang in Patikul town. "Five peole are confirmed dead and four others are also wounded in the attack," said Brigadier General Alexander Aleo, the island's military chief.
He said troops were sent to the town on Friday to track down the attackers, believed to be members of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group.
"Survivors of the carnage told military investigators that the attackers asked them if they were Christian and when they answered yes, the gunmen just opened fire," Aleo told the Zamboanga Journal.
Survivors said the attackers had long hair and were wearing camouflage pants and armed with automatic weapons, a separate military report said.
Maj. Gamal Hayudini, a spokesman for the military's Southern Command, said some 20 gunmen attacked the farm. "We believed this has something to do with family feud," he said without elaborating.
Hayudini identified those killed as Itting Pontilla, 45; Emma Casipong, 16; Melanie Patinga, 9 months; Selma Patinga and Pedro Casipong. And the wounded as Norde Patinga, 38; Jason Patinga, 3, Jennifer Pontilla, 19; and Lucring Casipong, 50.
The attack came barely a week after 20 people had been wounded in separate attacks by unidentified men in Patikul and Jolo towns.
On Wednesday, Abu Sayyaf gunmen killed a father and his son in Jolo's Busbus village on suspiscion the man was a military spy. The group has previously attacked and killed dozens of civilians suspected of aiding the military on the island.
Abu Sayyaf militants also fired two rounds of rifle grenades Tuesday near a military post in Jolo's Indanan town where troops, from the 53rd Infantry Battalion, are stationed, although there were no reports os casualties.
The latest Abu Sayyaf attack occured just ahead of next week's joint antiterror training exercise between the United States and the Philippines in Jolo.
Washington listed the Abu Sayyaf, blamed by Manila to the spate of killings and bombings in the strife-torn region, as a foreign terrorist organization and offered as much as $5 million dollars bounty for the group's known leaders.
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