Filipino, US troops honor slain marines in Zamboanga City

Philippine marines in Zamboanga City carry Wednesday, September 23, 2009 the coffin of one of eight soldiers killed in a clash with Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya militants in Sulu province. (Mindanao Examiner Photos)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 23, 2009) – Philippines and US troops honored Wednesday seven Filipino marines killed in fierce clashes with Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya militants in the southern province of Sulu.

The caskets of seven of eight soldiers killed in Tuesday fighting were paraded in military camps in Zamboanga City, where Filipino and American troops paid their last respects.

A group of US soldiers were spotted saluting with Filipino troops as hearse of the soldiers arrived at the Western Mindanao Command. The caskets were later brought to a chapel inside a Filipino naval base where a chaplain said a requiem.

Soldiers also paid their last respect for their fallen companions. “This is reality here. We have to risk our lives to save others. We are soldiers,” one marine said.

Marine spokesman Major Ramon David Hontiveros said operations to capture Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya militants continued on Wednesday in Sulu province.

US Special Forces were aiding the Philippine military in the hunt for militants, according to Major General Benjamin Dolorfino, chief of the Western Mindanao Command.

He said the US military is providing intelligence to the local troops in the hunt for the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya militants in Sulu.

Dolorfino said troops were tracking down at least four most senior Abu Sayyaf leaders – Dr Abu, Albader Parad, Isnilon Hapilon and Yasser Igasan – including two foreign Jemaah Islamiya terrorists Mauiya and Quayem and some 200 followers.

Mauiya, believed to an Indian national, was among those previously tagged by the Philippine authorities as behind the kidnappings early this year of three international Red Cross workers in Sulu. But little is known about Quayem.

Dolorfino said at least 34 Abu Sayyaf militants and 8 soldiers were killed in the fighting since Sunday in the hinterlands of Indanan town. Among those killed was an Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Ustadz Muktar, a cousin of Hapilon, who is wanted by the US for terrorism.

US Special Forces are deployed in Sulu province since 2006 and assisting the local military in defeating the Abu Sayyaf. (Mindanao Examiner)

Sayyaf attacks troops, torch school in Southern Philippines

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 25, 2008) – Abu Sayyaf militants, whose group is tied to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya, attacked Thursday government soldiers and torched a school in Sulu island in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said the militants attacked marine soldiers in the village of Taglibi in Patikul town at around 12.45 a.m. and later torched the Datu Uddin Bahjin Central Elementary School.

“There were no reports of casualties,” said Lt. Steffani Cacho, a military spokeswoman.

Cacho said troops fought off the attackers, who later retreated under cover of darkness. “These attacks show the traitorous and coward-like character of the Abu Sayyaf, however, the troops’ vigilance have allowed them the upper hand and they were able to drive away the enemies,” she said.

Authorities have tagged the Abu Sayyaf group as behind the spate of kidnappings and bomb attacks across Mindanao. The Abu Sayyaf, which means "The Bearer of the Sword," has been labeled a terrorist organization by both Manila and Washington, and is believed by the US to have links with the al-Qaeda terror network.

Two factions of the Abu Sayyaf are still holding a kidnapped a Chinese trader Xili Wu in Sulu province. Wu was kidnapped Dec. 14 in the capital town of Jolo while he closing his appliances’ store. Another group is holding a nine-year old Filipino girl in Basilan island, south of Zamboanga City. (Mindanao Examiner)

8 Dead, 3 Dozens Wounded In Fierce Fighting In Southern Philippines

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Sayyafs ambush marines in Sulu Island

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 24, 2008) – Suspected Abu Sayyaf militants detonated a roadside bomb on Monday, wounding four Filipino marines in the southern Philippine island of Sulu, officials said.

General Mohammad Dolorfino, chief of the Philippines Marines, said the soldiers were on board a truck and passing through the village of Bangkal in Patikul town when the explosion occurred.

“Four of my marines are wounded in the attack, believed carried out by the Abu Sayyaf,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

He said the bomb was placed on a pile of garbage on the side of the road and detonated as the M35 truck passed. “Soldiers recovered 50 meters of electrical wire and this suggested that the perpetrators had detonated the explosive as the truck was passing by,” he said.

Dolorfino did not say how many soldiers were on the truck, but they were heading to a marine detachment near Patikul tow. The soldiers came from a marine base in Buhanginan village in Patikul town, where US troops are deployed.

Abu Sayyaf militants in August also ambushed a Philippine and US military convoy in Sulu, killing four Filipino soldiers and wounded ten more in the village of Bonbon in Patikul town.

The incident was also not reported to the local media, but the Guam Army National Guard released a brief statement confirming that one of its servicemen was unharmed following an attack on his unit in Sulu.

The US soldier was not identified, but the Guam Army National Guard said the serviceman is attached to a platoon with the 294th Infantry Regiment deployed in May in Sulu to aide in the ongoing conflict there.

The Philippine military and the US Embassy in Manila insisted no US soldiers were in the attacked convoy.

American troops are training and assisting local soldiers in defeating terrorism in the southern Philippines on the request of the Philippine government. Earlier this month, Filipino soldiers also captured an Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Sakirin Andalan Sali and killed another militant, Faidar Hadjadi, in a firefight in Sulu. (Mindanao Examiner)

Sayyaf frees remaining aid worker kidnapped in Southern Philippines

Freed kidnapped aid worker Millet Mendoza with Philippine Navy Captain Jeanne Lingan in Zamboanga City on Saturday, November 15, 2008.

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 15, 2008) – Suspected Abu Sayyaf militants have freed the last of two aid workers they kidnapped in Basilan island in the southern Philippines, officials said Saturday.

Philippine Marines chief General Mohamad Dolorfino said Millet Mendoza was released late Friday on a remote village in Basilan. “Kidnappers have freed Mendoza. She is okay,” Dolorfino told The Manila Times.

Mendoza was released in the town of Al-Barka, a stronghold of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. It was unknown if Mendoza’s family paid ransom or not, but the kidnappers previously demanded P7 million in exchange for her freedom.

Mendoza was seized Sept. 15 along with Esperancita Hupida, program director of the Nagdilaab Foundation, which is active in humanitarian and development works in Basilan island.

Hupida was also freed Oct. 30 also in Al-Barka town after her family paid P2 million ransom.

Just last week, Abu Sayyaf militants have released a kidnapped Filipino nurse, Preciosa Feliciano, after four months in captivity in Basilan in exchange for P2 million ransoms.

Feliciano, 24, was freed November 7 in Tipo-Tipo town. She was kidnapped July 7 in Zamboanga City and brought to Basilan by boat.

Kidnappers are still holding a Joed Anthony Pilangga, a nursing student snatched on October 17 outside their house in Zamboanga City. Kidnappers have demanded P20 million from Pilangga's family.

The Abu Sayyaf also kidnapped nine people in recent months in Basilan and sent letters to Christians living on the island threatening them with harm if they do not embrace Islam. The letters were signed by Indama and Jamiri. (Mindanao Examiner)

Philippine Rebels Free 2 Captured Marine

BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 13, 2008) – Muslim rebels freed before dawn Friday two marine intelligence they seized in the southern Philippine island of Basilan after a series of government negotiations.

Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels captured the two soldiers who were trying to negotiate for the surrender of a senior MILF leader in Basilan, where security forces are fighting Abu Sayyaf militants.

The rebels then demanded the military to free an Abu Sayyaf militant, Sali Alih, arrested last week by policemen and soldiers in Basilan’s Lamitan City. Alih was implicated in the beheading of 14 marines in fierce clashes last year in Al-Barka town, also in Basilan.

The soldiers were trying to get rebel Hadji Mas'ud alias Commander Long to surrender to them when gunmen seized them in Tipo-Tipo town.

The military’s Western Mindanao Command said the two soldiers - Corporals Jesse Duatin and Bernard Alcabasa (not Bernard ALcanta as reported by the MILF) – were released without any condition.

“The two soldiers are freed after a successful negotiation led by village leader Raisa Masud in Al-Barka town,” military spokesman Major Eugene Batara told the Mindanao Examiner.

Batara did not give details of the negotiations, but said the Abu Sayyaf prisoner will not be released. “We have laws to follow here,” he said.

He said the operations against the Abu Sayyaf will continue in Basilan island. “The operations against lawlessness will continue,” he said.

Alih belongs to the group of Abu Sayyaf leader Furuji Indama, blamed for the spate of attacks on military patrols in Basilan island.

Alih, a nephew of Mas' ud, was traveling on a motorcycle with another companion when police and military forces captured him. His companion was briefly held, but freed later by the police for lack of evidence to link him to the Abu Sayyaf.

The Abu Sayyaf is a small, but the most dreaded among local Muslim rebel groups in the southern Philippines. Filipino authorities linked the Abu Sayyaf also known as Al-Harakatul al-Islamiya, which means "bear of the sword" to the al-Qaeda terror network and the Indonesian militant group Jemaah Islamiya.

Another faction of the Abu Sayyaf is holding a kidnapped television reporter Ces Drilon and her cameramen Jimmy Encarnacion and their guide Professor Octavio Dinampo, of the Mindanao State University.

One cameraman, Angelo Valderama, was freed late Thursday in Sulu province where militants seized them June 8 in the village of Kulasi in Maimbung town while pursuing an exclusive story about the Abu Sayyaf.

Drilon works for the television giant ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. while Dinampo teaches Political Science at the Mindanao State University.

Police have tagged Gafur Jumdail, Albader Parad and Umbra Jumdail, a notorious militant leader wanted both by Washington and Manila for terrorism and killings, as behind the kidnappings. (Mindanao Examiner)

RP Troops Shell MILF Camps

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Marines Seized Chemical Explosive In South RP

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 25, 2008) – Government troops seized weapons and chemicals used in the manufacture of explosives in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, officials said Sunday.

Officials said a marine patrol intercepted Saturday a small boat transporting more than 280 bags of ammonium nitrate at a wharf in the village of Buanza near the town of Indanan. Troops also raided a house near the wharf and seized dozens of blasting caps and a .45-caliber pistol, ammunition and transceiver radios.

Sulu military chief, Brig. Gen. Juancho Sabban said several people were arrested and criminal charges will be filed against them. “There is an ongoing operation to determine where the chemicals came from or if the militant Abu Sayyaf group was involved in the smuggling.”

“The Abu Sayyaf‘s involvement is not remote. The raid, which was conducted based on military intelligence build-up, is near the Abu Sayyaf camp overrun by the military last month. With blasting caps and the ammonium nitrate, which is the basic ingredient for fertilizer bombs, it is obviously meant for a terrorist action,” he said.

The chemicals are widely used as fertilizer and an ingredient to homemade explosive common in blast fishing.

He said civilian informants tipped off the military about the chemicals and the weapons. Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan has previously ordered police and military to dismantle all private armed groups and seized all illegal weapons in the province.

“Our soldiers’ commitment to their mandated tasks interfaced with the public support and cooperation effect this successful operation. We shall always be relentless in our security operations to thwart any eventuality that may harm our people,” Sabban said. (Mindanao Examiner)

Stay Away From Our Bases, MILF Tells Military

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Dingdong Dantes, Sumabak Sa Sulu Medical Mission

Si Dingdong Dantes habang nakikipagkamay kay Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan sa kapitolyo ng lalawigan. At mga nagtitiliang fans ng aktor sa labas ng tanggapan ng gobernador. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

SULU (Mindanao Examiner / Apri. 01, 2008) - Nagkagulo sa kapitolyo ng Sulu matapos na dumating doon si Dingdong Dantes kasama ang mga sundalong Marines upang magsagawa ng medical missions sa dalawang bayan doon.

Si Dantes ang gumanap bilang Sergio Santibañes katuwang si Marian Rivera bilang Marimar sa super tele-nobela ng GMA-7 na "Marimar." Hindi agad nakilala ng mga taga-Sulu si Dantes dahil naka-uniporme ito ng Marines at may ranggo pang master sergeant. Nabatid na isa palang reservist sa Philippine Marines ang makisig na aktor.

Kasama ni Dantes na nagtungo kamakalawa sa kapitolyo si Marines chief Gen. Mohd Ben Dolorfino at iba pang mga opisyal at miyembro ng ilang non-government organizations upang magbigay galang sa gobernador na lalawigan na si Sakur Tan at sa bise nitong si Nur-Ana Sahidulla.

Natuwa naman si Bise Gob. Sahidulla ng dumalaw rin si Dantes sa kanyang tanggapan at doon nagpakuha ng mga litrato.

Maiinit ang naging pagtanggap ng mga taga-Sulu sa grupo nina Dantes at sinigurado naman ng aktor kay Gob. Tan ang suporta nito sa pagtulong sa mga mahihirap sa lalawigan.

"Ang pogi ni Dingdong at ang macho parang si Gobernor Sakur (Tan) at mestiso talaga. Sana kasama rin niya si Marimar," sambit naman ng fan na si Sabina Hamsain.

Hindi naman magkaugaga si Dantes sa mga tilian at yakap at halik na natanggap sa kapitolyo mula sa maraming fans at empleyado na sumugod doon. Pulos pasasalamat naman ang naging tugon ni Dantes. Nakipag-usap rin sa Dantes kay Gob. Tan ukol sa mga programa nito para sa mahihirap sa Sulu.

"Nagpapasalamat kami kay Dingdong at kina General Dolorfino dahil sa kanilang pagtugon at pagtulong sa atin sa pamamagitan ng medical missions at sana ay muling maulit ito upang marami pa tayong mabigyan ng tulong," wika naman ni Gob. Tan.

Nagtungo si Dantes sa bayan ng Patikul at Maimbung na kung saan ay may joint medical missions ang Marines at ang pamahalaang-panlalawigan. Kahit pa may ulan ang tagumpay na naidaos ang medical missions.

"Kasama naman namin si Dingdong dahil gusto talaga niyang magtungo sa Sulu upang tumutulong sa mga mahihirap at natutuwa kami sa kasigapagan, kabaitan at pagiging disiplinado ni Sergio," ani pa ni Gen. Dolorfino.

Dahil sa pinagkakaguluhan ito ay hindi na nakapagbigay ng pahayag si Dantes, ngunit nakiusap naman ito sa Sulu Gazette na makahingi at ipadala sa kanya ang mga larawan kuha mula sa kapitolyo. (Mindanao Examiner)

Philippine Marines Chief Takes Over Army Ops In Troubled South

Philippine military chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon gestures as he speaks to new Western Mindanao Command chief Maj. Gen. Nelson Allaga in Zamboanga City on Wednesday Aug. 29, 2007. And Filipino travelers look at posters of wanted Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya leaders and pictures of an IED at the Zamboanga International Airport in Mindanao. Gen. Esperon ordered security forces to intensify the offensive against the militants in the troubled region, where fighting already killed more than 100 people since last month. (Mindanao Examiner Photo Service)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 29 Aug) – The chief of the Philippine Marines has been named as new commander of military forces in the troubled region of Mindanao.

Maj. Gen. Nelson Allaga on Wednesday formally took over the Western Mindanao Command headquarters and replaced Army Lt. Gen. Eugenio Cedo, who has retired after more than 33 years in the military service.

Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, the country's military chief, presided over the ceremony held in Zamboanga City, just south of Basilan island where security forces are battling Abu Sayyaf militants whose group is tied to the al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya terrorists.

"Nothing has change. We will continue with our operations against the terrorists," Allaga, a decorated marine commander who battled communist and Muslim insurgencies in Mindanao, said.

Thousands of Marines have been moved out from Luzon since last year and deployed in the southern Philippines to fight the Abu Sayyaf and the New People's Army.

"We are emphasizing the fleet marine concept of deployment in this area. You must have noticed that almost all the marines are now in Zamboanga (Peninsula), Sulu, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi (provinces) and in the southern tip of Palawan in tandem with out naval forces exactly for the strategic task of securing our southern part of the archipelago," Esperon said.

President Gloria Arroyo has ordered the military to crush the Abu Sayyaf so the government can begin a massive development programs in the restive region.

"The national leadership has a specific vision for western Mindanao one that is marked with true peace and sustainable progress and to realize this vision, the AFP has been tasked to end armed rebellion to all levels and sources be it an insurgent, secessionist or terrorist or lawless elements."

"I am confident that with the array of forces that you now have in this area, you will be more than equal to the task that is given to you. Indeed I expect no letup on the operations against the Abu Sayyaf and other lawless elements," Esperon said.

Esperon also announced the creation of the National Development Command, a new unit in the Armed Forces of the Philippines that would especially focus on the basic socio-economic development and infrastructure projects in conflict-affected areas.

"Through it, we hope to contribute in the convergence of efforts by the different line agencies of government in the repair and construction of schools, health centers, sources of potable water, roads and bridges and in the process rebuild lives that have been disrupted by terrorist activities and violence," he said.

He said President Gloria Arroyo also ordered two battalions of army engineers to Basilan island to finish the circumferential road project which has been stalled since the 1990s because of the insurgency problem. The road project is aimed at connecting seven towns on the island and was previously under the military's Basilan Task Force.

Esperon also gave out five orders to military commanders in southern Philippines and among them is to destroy the NPA and the Abu Sayyaf, blamed for the spate of terrorism and kidnappings in the region.

"Remember our marching order (from the President) is to defeat the communist-terrorist movement by 2010 and destroy the Abu Sayyaf and other lawless elements soonest," he said.

He also told soldiers to uphold and protect human rights and assist police authorities and other government law enforcement agencies and bodies in investigating extra-judicial killings.

Esperon said the military should work closely with the Philippine National Police to carry out internal security operations and for the soldiers to support the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, but warned that the AFP will punish those who would disrupt the government peace process in Mindanao.

"Very importantly, sustain the gains in the peace process, but we must punish the peace spoilers," he said. (Mindanao Examiner)

Bodies Of Slain Marines Flown To Manila

Philippine Marines carry Monday Aug. 20, 2007 sealed caskets containing bodies of soldiers in Zamboanga City. Fifteen soldiers were killed by Abu Sayyaf militants in a firefight in Basilan island. The bodies were flown to Manila by a military transport plane and will be given full honors Tuesday. (Mindanao Examiner Photo Service)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 20 Aug) – The bodies of 13 Filipino soldiers slain in fierce fighting with Abu Sayyaf in the southern Philippines were flown to Manila on Monday, as troops continue to hunt for militants blamed for terrorism and kidnappings in the troubled region.

The bodies were in sealed caskets and will be brought to a military base where their grieving families are waiting. “They should finish off the Abu Sayyaf,” said Sonia Lopez, a sister of one of those killed in the fighting last week in Basilan island.

Army Lt. Gen. Eugenio Cedo, chief of the Western Mindanao Command, led soldiers in a solemn ceremony in Zamboanga City to honor those killed.

“They are our heroes. They died fighting to protect the people from terrorism,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

Cedo said troops were pursuing the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan as well as in Jolo island in the Sulu Archipelago, where 27 soldiers were also killed in clashes. “The operations are continuing and we will not stop until the terrorists are destroyed,” he said.

Fifteen soldiers were killed in Basilan after security forces assaulted an Abu Sayyaf base near Ungkaya Pukan town.

The military said as many as 30 gunmen were slain in the fighting, but only seven bodies had been recovered, including two Abu Sayyaf sub-leaders tagged as behind the beheading of ten Marines in a firefight in July in Al-Barka town.

Mayor Joel Maturan, of Ungkaya Pukan town, also denied reports published by one newspaper in Manila which quoted him as saying that soldiers killed in the fighting were like “sitting ducks”. “I did not say that,” he said at a press conference in Zamboanga City.

Cedo also criticized the newspaper about the account of its reports. “It was false,” he said in the news conference.

Marines Brig. Gen. Juancho Sabban, commander of a task force in-charged of pursuing the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan, also decried the report. “Our soldiers are not sitting ducks. They fought gallantry,” he said in Basilan, adding, troops captured an Abu Sayyaf camp after the battle.

Four Marine officers who were with the mayor denied the same reports during the press conference held at the Philippine Air Force base. Cedo ended the press conference with calls for responsible reporting. (Mindanao Examiner)

15 Marines Killed In Southern Philippine Island

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 18 Aug) – At least 15 soldiers and dozens of Abu Sayyaf gunmen were killed in fierce fighting Saturday in the southern Philippine island of Basilan, officials said.

As many as 17 soldiers were also wounded in the fighting that erupted in the remote town of Ungkaya Pukan after security forces assaulted an Abu Sayyaf encampment, military officials in Zamboanga City said.

Five of those killed were marine officers.

Troops recovered 7 bodies of militants, including that of Puruji Indama who was believed involved in the beheading of 10 Marines in firefight July 10 in Basilan’s Al-Barka town.

Other reports said as many as 30 Abu Sayyaf gunmen were killed, but this could not be independently confirmed.

Maj. Eugene Batara, a regional military spokesman, said there could be more enemy casualties, but the Abu Sayyaf may have taken away their dead.

The fighting was so intense that soldiers fought the Abu Sayyaf in close-quarter battle.

The slain soldiers were under the Joint Task Force Thunder, tasked to pursue the Abu Sayyaf and Moro rebels implicated in the beheading of soldiers in Al-Barka.

Lt. Gen. Eugenio Cedo, chief of the Western Mindanao Command, fled to Basilan island to oversee the operation against the Abu Sayyaf.

The Philippine military is fighting two fronts in the troubled south, one in Basilan island and another in Jolo island, where 27 soldiers were also killed by Abu Sayyaf gunmen and Moro National Liberation Front insurgents in fighting last week.

President Gloria Arroyo last month ordered security forces to intensify the hunt for the Abu Sayyaf and insurgents in Basilan and Jolo islands. (Mindanao Examiner)

Turuan, Sisihan Sa COMELEC Fire!

MANILA (Midnanao Examiner / 12 Mar) – Itinanggi kanina ng Philippine Marine Corps na naging iresponsable ito sa pagbabantay sa punong tanggapan ng Commission on Elections (Comelec) kasunod ng naganap na sunog.

Katwiran ni Marines spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Ariel Caculitan, wala silang unit deployment bago pa man napagtibay ang memorandum of agreement (MOA) sa pagitan ng Comelec at Department of National Defense (DND) noong Oktubre ng nakalipas na taon na naglilimita ng papel ng Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) tuwing halalan.

Isinisisi ng Bureau of Fire sa Marines ang paglaganap ng apoy dahil hindi umano agad nakatawag sa telepono ang mga sundalong nagbabantay sa gusali.

Subalit, ayon kay Caculitan ay matagal na aniyang nai-pull out mula pa noong 2002 ang kanilang puwersa sa Comelec at wala ring kahilingan upang magtalaga ng mga tauhan sa tanggapan para ngayong panahong eleksyon.

"Seasonal ang pagkuha ng Comelec ng tropa ng Marines para i-secure ang main office, pero sa ngayon, wala silang request," ani Caculitan.

"Paano kami masisisi dyan eh wala naman kaming itinalagang Marine security sa Comelec?" dagdag pa ng opisyal.

Hindi rin mag-iimbestiga ang Marines sa mga tauhan nito kung nagkaroon ng kapabayaan o pananabotahe dahil naniniwala itong hindi na nakikialam ang kanilang institusyon sa seguridad ng Comelec.

Una nang pinalulutang na "iniwanan" ng Marines ang posisyon sa Comelec kung kayat hindi agad naipabatid ang naganap na sunog.

Inabot pa ng labing-limang minuto bago naialarma sa Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) ang sunog na halos tumupok sa main office ng Comelec. Kasalanan umano ng BFP kung bakit kumalat ang apoy dahil mabagal ang naging responde nito sa sunog. (Juley Reyes)

Marine Killed In Basilan Attack

BASILAN (Mindanao Examiner / 24 Feb) – A Filipino soldier was killed in an attack on the island of Basilan, south of Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines, the military said Saturday.

The military said the soldier, assigned with the Philippine Marines, was shot by motorcycle gunmen in Lamitan town.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but the soldier was new on the island and part of a marine contingent that replaced the army forces early this month.

Abu Sayyaf militants are still hiding in Basilan, although their numbers have dwindled in the past years and many of them fled to nearby Jolo island to evade government operation.

Aside from the Abu Sayyaf, the larger Moro Islamic Liberation Front and criminal gangs operate are active in Basilan.

The military did not release the name of the soldier, but other reports identified the victim as Corporal Rodel Algaba. (Mindanao Examiner)