BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 23, 2010) – Four people were killed and six others injured when gunmen opened fire on a public transport on Wednesday in the restive province of Basilan, police told the Mindanao Examiner.
Police said military forces were sent to track down more than two dozen hooded gunmen who were behind the ambush in Maluso town. “We still don’t know who were behind the attack, but military forces were sent to pursue the ambushers,” said Senior Superintendent Antonio Mendoza, the provincial police chief.
He said the gunmen fled after the ambush and no group claimed responsibility for the attack. The town, he said, is a known lair of Abu Sayyaf and Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels blamed for past attacks on civilian and military targets.
“Most of those killed and wounded are civilians,” Mendoza said.
Just early this month, Abu Sayyaf militants killed three men they kidnapped in Basilan’s Sumisip town after their families failed to pay P3 million ransoms.
The trio - Claudio Mananita, Rolando Francisco and Dariel Quintella – were kidnapped on May 27 by Abu Sayyaf gunmen headed by Puruji Indama. Their bodies were discovered by civilians on June 5 in Sukaten village.
Indama’s group was also behind many kidnappings in Zamboanga City and Basilan last year and tagged as behind the series of attacks on government troops in the province.
In April, two government soldiers were wounded in a clash with the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan’s Sumisip town after militants detonated bombs in Isabela City, the provincial capital, and sprayed automatic gunfire on fleeing villagers that left dozens of people dead and wounded. (Mindanao Examiner)
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
4 killed in Basilan ambush
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Sayyaf abducts, decapitates three men in South RP
BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 13, 2010) – Abu Sayyaf militants beheaded three men they abducted on a remote village in the southern Philippine province of Basilan, police said Sunday.
Police said the bodies and their severed heads were all recovered in Maluso town where militants with links to Jemaah Islamiya and Al-Qaeda had been recovered Saturday.
“There is an ongoing operation to track down the Abu Sayyaf responsible in the killings,” Senior Superintendent Antonio Mendoza, the provincial police chief, said and blaming the brutal murders to Puruji Indama, which heads a faction of the Abu Sayyaf in restive province of Basilan.
He said the three men were just gathering woods near Abong-Abong village and had been abducted on Friday afternoon and their bodies recovered the next day.
The motive of the killings was unknown, but Mendoza said the victims were all Christians. The attacks came a week after the Abu Sayyaf also decapitated three kidnapped Christian men after their families failed to pay huge ransom in exchange for their lives.
The Abu Sayyaf is small, but the most notorious terrorist group blamed by authorities for the spate of bombings, killings and kidnappings-for-ransom. Dozens of people had been killed in past attacks in Basilan, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.
The breakdown of peace and order in the province has been largely blamed by citizens to the failure of military and police to wipe out the Abu Sayyaf and the absence of local government officials who frequently stay in their bungalows in Zamboanga and Manila. (Mindanao Examiner)
Thursday, June 03, 2010
Brawl mars special polls in Basilan province
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 3, 2010) – Angry villagers mauled four people who were accused of buying votes during a special election Thursday in the southern Filipino province of Basilan, police said.
Police said one man, who claimed to be a member of the election watch dog Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting, was also arrested by the police for carrying a knife during the melee. The fighting briefly disrupted the elections.
The man also yielded 20-peso and 50-peso bills with the name of a local candidate in Maluso town. Police quickly pacified angry villagers who mauled the four men after they pretended to be poll observers inside the polling precinct, said Senior Superintendent Antonio Mendoza, the provincial police chief.
“Well, the elections were generally peaceful. Dozens of policemen and soldiers guarded the areas where the elections were held,” he said.
Special elections also held in Lanao del Sur province were generally peaceful.
General elections on May 10 did not push through in some areas in Lanao and Basilan, two of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region, due to threats against the lives of election inspectors.
Previous elections in Basilan were marred by violence, fraud and vote-buying by politicians who maintained private armed goons. (Mindanao Examiner)
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Troops hunt down Sayyaf in Basilan province
Soldiers guard a village in Isabela City in Muslim autonomous province of Basilan in the southern Philippines. Security forces continue to hunt down Abu Sayyaf militants blamed for deadly attacks Tuesday that left 14 people dead in the largely Christian city. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)
BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / April 17, 2010) – Security forces continue hunt down Abu Sayyaf militants blamed for deadly attacks in the restive Muslim province of Basilan in the southern Philippines, police said Saturday.
Troops on Friday battled the Abu Sayyaf in Isabela City and killed three militants near the village of Mesola. Soldiers also detonated an improvised explosive left behind by the Abu Sayyaf blamed for Tuesday’s twin bombings in the largely Christian city.
“There is an operation going on and we are not letting our guards down. We have deployed more police forces to guard vital government installations and protect the civilians,” said Senior Superintendent Antonio Mendoza, the provincial police chief.
Militants on Tuesday detonated bombs and opened fire on civilians fleeing the attacks, but police and military authorities were investigating reports that a politician running for governor in the Basilan could have masterminded the carnage.
The reports linked Mujiv Hataman to the attacks which allegedly targeted another gubernatorial candidate Joel Maturan, the mayor of Ungkaya Pukan town, and his mayoralty candidate Edwin Pantaleta – both were said to be the local favorites.
Hataman denied all the accusations against him and urged authorities to investigate the bombings. Two militants captured in Tuesday’s firefight are now being interrogated by the military in Zamboanga City.
Abu Sayyaf militants in the past were also reported to have been hired by politicians to assassinate their rivals.
Last year, the Abu Sayyaf detonated a roadside bomb in a failed assassination of Governor Sakur Tan, of Sulu province. Two militants captured by the police admitted they were hired by Tan’s political foes to kill him.
In November 2007, suspected Abu Sayyaf militants who were allegedly hired by two politicians in Basilan also detonated a bomb planted at the entrance of the Philippine Congress and killed Representative Wahab Akbar, a former Basilan governor, and three other people. (Mindanao Examiner)
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Sayyafs, militias clash in Basilan province
Government troops guard a village in Isabela City in the southern Philippine province of Basilan where Abu Sayyaf militants disguised as policemen and soldiers detonated bombs and opened fire on civilians on Tuesday, April 13, 2010. Police say 14 people were killed and many more wounded in the violence – three of them militants who clashed with soldiers. Police say clashes again erupted Wednesday in Isabela City between Abu Sayyaf gunmen and government militias. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)Police said the fighting broke out in the village of Begang in Isabela City where the militants disguised as policemen and army troops set off bombs and opened fire on civilians that left more than a dozen people dead.
Senior Superintendent Antonio Mendoza, the Basilan police chief, said militiamen clashed with at least 7 militants who were part of the group that launched attacks on Tuesday.
It was unknown whether any of the militants were wounded in the clash, but they were able to escape towards a rubber plantation where soldiers and policemen have surrounded. One villager was taken hostage by the fleeing gunmen and were using the civilian as shield, Mendoza said.
“Pursuit operation is going. Police and military forces are pursuing the Abu Sayyaf,” he said.
Mendoza said security forces have captured one of the attackers who was wounded in the fighting Tuesday and five more people believed to be supporters of the Abu Sayyaf.
He said a total of 14 people – three of them militants - were killed in the violence in Isabela City.
Police and military have put up checkpoints and road blocks in Isabela to prevent the militants from escaping.
“We have put up checkpoints and road blocks and operations are going on against the terrorists,” he said. (Mindanao Examiner)
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Blast hits Zamboanga ahead of Arroyo's arrival
President Gloria Arroyo during a visit Wednesday, March 24, 2010 to Basilan Island, just several nautical miles south of Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines, where she inspected government infrastructure projects in Tipo-Tipo town. (Photo by Rey Baniquet).ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 24, 2010) – An improvised bomb exploded in Zamboanga City ahead of President Gloria Arroyo’s visit Wednesday to nearby Basilan province in the southern Philippines.
The explosion near the Zamboanga City Hall occurred late Tuesday, but police and military said no one was hurt or killed in the blast. It was unknown whether the explosion was connected to Arroyo’s visit. The blast hit an area where Muslim traders had previously occupied.
The army said the blast was probably pulled off by pranksters, although authorities were still investigating the explosion which damaged a concrete wall.
“That’s nothing serious. It was probably carried out by pranksters,” said Army Colonel Santiago Baluyot, commander of a local anti-terror task force.
The explosion coincided with police announcements that the Abu Sayyaf and Moro rebels were planning to sow terror.
Arroyo arrived at a military base in Zamboanga City on Wednesday and flew by a helicopter to Basilan, a stronghold of Abu Sayyaf and Moro rebels, to inaugurate several government infrastructure projects.
Zamboanga had been previously bombed by Abu Sayyaf militants and Moro rebels who are actively operating in the restive region.
While in Basilan, Arroyo met with her political allies, but details of the meeting were unknown. Sources close to local politicians said Arroyo told her allies to campaign hard and ensure the victory of former Defense chief Gilberto Teodoro who is running for President in the May 10 elections.
Teodoro is running under the government coalition Lakas-Kampi parties and popular among many people in Mindanao.
Senior Superintendent Antonio Mendoza, Basilan police chief, said Arroyo also spoke with villagers and assured them of continued government infrastructure projects.
Arroyo’s chopper landed in the town of Ungkaya Pukan and then she motored to Tipo-Tipo town where she inspected the projects.
“The President’s visit is a big success. Basilan officials and villagers welcomed the President and they were all happy that she visited Basilan and inspected various government projects,” Mendoza said. (Mindanao Examiner)
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Sayyaf attack leaves 12 dead in southern Philippines
Officials said ten villagers were also wounded in the attack which occurred at around 5:45 a.m. in the village of Tubigan in Maluso town. “The Abu Sayyaf attacked a group of government militiamen as a result one militiaman and nine civilians were killed,” said Army First Lieutenant Steffani Cacho, a regional military spokeswoman.
But police said 11 people were killed and ten more wounded after Moro rebels opened fire on a row of houses. It blamed the attack on the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which is currently negotiating peace with the government.
“MILF rebels attacked the village. Eleven people are dead and ten others were wounded,” said Senior Superintendent Antonio Mendoza, the Basilan police chief.
Mendoza said the attack was likely connected to a clan war. “The target of the rebel attack was the village chieftain,” he said, adding, the raid was connected to previous killings in the town, where rebels and militants are actively operating.
Other reports said a dozen people were killed in the raid. Mendoza said the attackers also torched several houses before retreating to the hinterlands.
Lieutenant General Benjamin Dolorfino, chief of the Western Mindanao Command, said security forces were pursuing the attacks. “There is an ongoing operation in Basilan,” he said.
Authorities previously accused the MILF of conniving with the Abu Sayyaf and in many instances the rebels fought soldiers along side with militants, an accusation strongly denied by the secessionist group, which is fighting for self-determination. (Mindanao Examiner)
Philippine forces rescue 2 kidnapped Chinese men
BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 26, 2010) – Philippine security forces rescued two kidnapped Chinese nationals late Friday in the southern province of Basilan after more than 3 months in captivity, police told the Mindanao Examiner.
Police said the duo - Zi Shun Lu, 51, alias Oscar Lu; and Bo Shung Tan, 27, alias Michael Tan, both from Guangzhou, China – were rescued at around 8:20 p.m. in the village of Binembengan in Sumisip town.
“They were brought to hospital for medical examinations,” Senior Superintendent Antonio Mendoza, the provincial police chief, said.
He did not give details of the rescue, saying, operation is going on to capture the kidnappers.
Al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf militants kidnapped the Chinese men on November 10 from a plywood factory in Basilan’s Maluso town along with a Filipino worker, Mark Singson, who was later beheaded after his employer Hi-Tech Wood Craft Corporation failed to pay ransom.
The kidnappers headed by Puruji Indama originally demanded P15 million for the release of the hostages. The two foreigners were previously reported to be Filipino citizens, but later investigations revealed they are Chinese nationals and probably illegal workers hired by George Tan, owner of the plywood factory.
Last week, two government soldiers were killed and another was wounded in a landmine explosion while searching for the Chinese men in the village of Pamatsaken in Sumisip town.
Last year, Abu Sayyaf militants kidnapped three government teachers - Noemi Mandi, Jocelyn Enriquez and Jocelyn Inion – in Zamboanga Sibugay’s Naga town and brought them to Basilan province where they had been later freed in exchange for ransoms.
Three other state teachers Janette de los Reyes, Freires Quizon and Rafael Mayonado, all kidnapped in Zamboanga City, were also brought to Basilan and released four months later after private negotiators ransom to the Abu Sayyaf.
But a faction of the Abu Sayyaf last year also beheaded a school principal, Gabriel Canizares, in nearby Sulu province after his family failed to raise two million pesos ransom. His head was found at a petrol station in the capital town of Jolo. (Mindanao Examiner)
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Militants attack Basilan army post
BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 16, 2010) – Suspected Abu Sayyaf militants whose group is tied to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya attacked a military post in the troubled province of Basilan, south of Zamboanga City.
Police said the attack occurred Monday in Sumisip town, but troops repulsed the militants headed by Puruji Indama, who is on the list of the government’s most wanted terrorists in the southern Philippines.
“We have doubled our security in the province to protect the civilians from possible attacks by terrorists,” said Senior Superintendent Antonio Mendoza, commander of police forces in Basilan.
The attack coincided with reports that some 100 militants from the province of Sulu landed in Basilan.
The Abu Sayyaf, which means “bearer of the sword,” was blamed for the spate of terrorism and kidnappings in the southern Philippines. Two Chinese nationals were kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan last year. (Mindanao Examiner)
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Twin roadside bombings trigger alert in Basilan
Philippine soldiers who were wounded in a roadside bombing in troubled Basilan province are recuperating Wednesday, February 3, 2010 at a military hospital in Zamboanga City. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Jung Francisco)“We are taking steps to ensure the safety of everybody in Basilan. There is an ongoing operation against lawless elements,” Senior Superintendent Antonio Mendoza, the provincial police chief, told the Mindanao Examiner.
Police said four of those wounded in Monday’s twin attacks were followers of a mayoralty candidate Ben Hataman who is running in Sumisip town. The explosion occurred at around 11:00 a.m. in the town’s Giong village wounding the four who were traveling in a jeep.
Another explosion 20 minutes later in the village of Libog also in Sumisip town targeted a military armor personnel carrier killing the soldier and wounding eight more.
Police blamed the Abu Sayyaf for both attacks. The wounded soldiers were brought to a military hospital in Zamboanga City where they are being treated for bullet and shrapnel wounds.
Mendoza said they also deployed additional police forces in Bubuan Island off Basilan province after sporadic fighting erupted between two warring clans headed by Masud Agtah and Jamang Mohamad that left one person dead over the weekend.
Two people were also wounded in the clashes, he said. (Mindanao Examiner)
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Twin bombings kill 1 soldier, 12 others injured in southern Philippines
BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 2, 2010) – One government soldier was killed and 12 others wounded in separate roadside bombings Tuesday in the troubled province of Basilan in the southern Philippines, police told the Mindanao Examiner.
Police said the first explosion wounded 4 civilians, mostly relatives of Basilan Representative Mujiv Hataman, in the village of Giong in Sumisip town. The attack occurred at around 11 a.m. while the victims were traveling on a jeep.
Hataman, who is running for governor in Basilan province against the incumbent Jum Akbar, a widow of assassinated solon Wahab Akbar, was not with the group of civilians. It was not immediately known if the bombing was connected to the murder of Akbar, who was killed in a blast that ripped through a section of the House of Representatives in Manila in 2007.
Police said another roadside bombing in the village of Libog also in Sumisip town killed one government soldier and wounded eight more. The soldiers were in a military armor vehicle when the explosion occurred.
“We have reports that the Abu Sayyaf was behind the twin attacks,” said Senior Superintendent Antonio Mendoza, the provincial police chief. “We are still investigating both attacks.”
He said police and military forces were sent to the town to track down the militants headed by Puruji Indama.
It was unknown whether the two attacks were coordinated or not, but the Abu Sayyaf has been blamed for the spate of attacks and kidnappings-for-ransom in Basilan, a known stronghold of the militant group tied to Jemaah Islamiya and Al-Qaeda. (Mindanao Examiner)