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Troops hunt Sayyaf terrorists in Philippine province

7 Nov

Army troops patrol Basilan province in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)


ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 7, 2011) – Philippine troops are pursuing Abu Sayyaf militants tied blamed for a landmine blast that left a total of six soldiers wounded in the southern province of Basilan, officials said Sunday.


Officials said Special Forces soldiers were running after Puruji Indama and Hasan Asnawi in the town of Sumisip, where six soldiers were wounded earlier in the day.

More troops were sent to the area to hunt down the two notorious leaders, said Army Colonel Ramon Yogyog, commander of military forces in Basilan, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.

There were no immediate reports of fresh clashes in the town, a known stronghold of Abu Sayyaf militants blamed for the spate of kidnappings and terrorism in Basilan and other parts of Mindanao Island.

Filipino authorities tied the militant group to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya. (Mindanao Examiner)

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3 motorbike thieves fall in Zamboanga City

7 Nov


ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 7, 2011) – Police arrested Monday three young men, one of them the son of a police officer, tagged as behind the series of motorbike robberies in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines, officials said.


Officials said policemen raided a house near a police camp in San Jose village and arrested the trio.

“We arrested the three men after receiving information that they were in the house. These men are behind the series of carnapping in Zamboanga,” said Senior Superintendent Edwin de Ocampo, chief of the local police force.

De Ocampo said the motorbikes stolen by the group were being sold to individuals for as low as P5,000. It was unknown whether the father of one of the suspects who is a policeman is unaware of his son’s criminal activities.

Dozens of motorbikes had been stolen in Zamboanga City over the years, and some of its owners were shot by robbers. (Mindanao Examiner)

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2 sodliers wounded in landmine explosion in Basilan province

7 Nov

Army troops patrol Basilan province in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 7, 2011) – Two Special Forces soldiers were critically injured following a landmine explosion Monday on a village in the southern Muslim province of Basilan, officials said.

Officials said the soldiers were patrolling the village of Baiwas in Sumisip town when they tripped on the landmine. “The explosion wounded two of soldiers, who are members of the 4th Special Forces Battalion and were immediately evacuated to Zamboanga City,” Army Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Cabangbang, a spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command, told the Mindanao Examiner.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for the blast, but Abu Sayyaf militants and Moro rebels are actively operating in the town.

Just last month, five rubber farm workers were also killed and eight others wounded after suspected Abu Sayyaf gunmen ambushed their truck near the village of Sapah Bulak in Sumisip town.

Most of the victims were members of the Tumahubong Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Incorporated Development Cooperative. Officials blamed the Abu Sayyaf for the attack, saying the group was extorting money from the cooperative.

Fighting also erupted in Al-Barka town near Sumisip last month between troops and Moro rebels that left 19 soldiers and five guerrillas dead. (Mindanao Examiner)

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NPA rebels kill Zambo militia

5 Nov


ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 5, 2011) – Communist insurgents killed a government militia on Saturday on a village in the town of Kabasalan in Zamboanga Sibugay province, the military said.


It said New People’s Army fighters seized the militia and used him as shield in their escape after a daring raid in the village of Palintana.

The insurgents abandoned the body of the slain militia in the same village. It was unknown why policemen and soldiers failed to prevent the raid, but the military said security forces were tracking down the insurgents.

The NPA is fighting for the establishment of a separate Maoist state in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)

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Malaysia jails ‘Sultan of Sulu’

4 Nov


ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 4, 2011) – Malaysia’s High Court rejected a plea by a man who claimed to be the Sultan of Sulu who was sentenced to jail for 8 months for burning flags and illegal assembly in the oil-rich state of Sabah, which is being claimed by the Philippines.


Datu Abdul Rajak Datu Abdul Aliuddin pleaded guilty on both charges and was originally sentenced to 5 years in prison, but appealed to the court and won, and was eventually to serve 8 months and fined 10,000 ringgits, a report by Malaysia’s Daily Express said.

It said Judicial Commissioner Datuk Douglas Primus rejected Aliuddin’s latest appeal and upheld his sentence for both crimes that occurred on April 4, 2009.

Aliuddin led a protest with 11 others in Sabah’s Tawau town after the Malaysian government refused to recognize him as the 6th Sultan of Sulu. The report said they burned Sabah flags during the protest.

It was not immediately whether Aliuddin is a Filipino citizen or not, but many Muslims in the Philippine provinces of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi have made similar claims, while some used it to collect money from followers and others had been jailed for fraud and extortion activities.

The Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo lays claim to Sabah.

The Sultanate of Sulu was a Muslim state that ruled over much of the islands off the Sulu Sea. It stretches from a part of the island of Mindanao in the east, to North Borneo, now known as Sabah, in the west and south, and to Palawan, in the north.

The Sultanate of Sulu was founded in 1457 and is believed to exist as a sovereign nation for at least 442 years. It obtained Sabah from Brunei as a gift for helping put down a rebellion on the Borneo Island. The British leased Sabah and transferred control over the territory to Malaysia after the end of World War II.

Even after Borneo became part of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur still pays an annual rent of 5,000 ringgit to the heirs of the recognized Sultan of Sulu Ismail Kiram. (Mindanao Examiner)

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American philanthropist sends donation anew for poor Muslims in Mindanao

4 Nov

American philanthropist sends donation anew for poor Muslims in Mindanao

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 3, 2011) – An American philanthropist who earlier donated assorted books, medicines and clothes to poor Filipino Muslims in Mindanao, has sent a second box of assorted goods and vowed to help more indigent communities in the southern Philippine region.

The donation was sent to the Mindanao Examiner’s main office in Zamboanga City after the philanthropist came across one of its videos which show a Muslim woman appealing for books and medicines and other assistance for poor children in Maguindanao province.

The donation consisted of assorted reading materials and books, including used clothes and medicines.

Those who would like to donate to help the poor can send them to:

Mindanao Examiner Productions

Unit 15, 3F Fair Land Building, Nuñez Ext.

Zamboanga City, Philippines 7000

Or deposit to:

Mindanao Examiner

Bank of the Philippine Islands

Zamboanga City

C/A 9525 8057 32

SWIFT Code BOPI PH MM

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Philippines, MILF rebels resume peace talks in Malaysia

3 Nov

An MILF freedom fighter looks on as his companion cleans his weapon at their base in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)


ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 3, 2011) – Philippine government peace negotiators met with Muslim rebels in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday in an effort to hasten the talks after a series of clashes last month in the southern region of Mindanao.

Peace talks in August ended with both sides failing to agree on the demand of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front for the creation of a Muslim sub-state in the predominantly Christian population in Mindanao.

It followed deadly clashes between security and rebel forces in Basilan and Zamboanga Sibugay provinces and a series of MILF attacks in Lanao province.

The fighting and the links of some rebel commanders to the spate of kidnappings and terrorism are also expected to be discussed during the talks, aside from the previous demand of the MILF for the establishment of a Muslim sub-state in Mindanao.

Manila has offered the MILF – the country’s largest Muslim rebel group fighting for self-determination – a wider autonomy in Mindanao which would have to be voted by Filipinos in a referendum, which in the past had been repeatedly rejected.

But the MILF peace panel rejected the offer and stood firm by its demand.

There is no assurance that Thursday talks would bring about an agreement, especially that only four members from both sides attended the negotiations. Its first meeting was held in executive session, according to a senior MILF official, but details of the talks were not immediately known.

It was unknown why some of the peace negotiators were absent from the formal talks.

Marvic Leonen, chief government peace negotiator, has previously said that the government autonomy proposal called “3-for-1” formula offers political settlement. “It offers the concept of genuine autonomy,” he said.

He said the proposal follows a comprehensive approach or three components for one solution to the Bangsamoro problem – first, roadmap for development and socio-economic rehabilitation in the region through a creation of the Joint Coordinating Committee on Development; secondly, peace accord through the creation of a Bangsamoro Commission which shall re-craft an Organic Act for genuine autonomy and supervise the implementation of the peace pact; and lastly, to acknowledge the historical injustice of conflict and reconciliation wherein the government is willing to “officially retell the real history of Mindanao.”

The MILF has asked Malaysia, which is brokering the peace talks, in the past to intervene in the deadlock. The rebel group described the government autonomy proposal and its own demand for a sub-state as “heaven-and-earth.”

Mindanao has a Muslim autonomous region which is comprise of Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Maguindanao and Lanao, but its governors have decried the lack of government projects in the provinces.

Leonen said the government’s offer does not necessarily mean that it will only cover the provinces under the Muslim autonomous region. “The government is sincere to grant genuine autonomy and there should not be conflict in labeling since the concept sub-state – which is demanded by the MILF in their Revised Comprehensive Compact – is also specie of autonomy for self-governance, where there is still a relation with national government. Let’s not fail to bring peace in Mindanao because of labels,” he said. (Mindanao Examiner)

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Philippine military says rebel leader linked to killings of 2 US soldiers is dead

1 Nov

Filipinos look at wanted poster of Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)


ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 1, 2011) – The Philippine military may have eliminated a Muslim rebel leader who claimed responsibility for the bomb attack two years ago on a US military convoy in Sulu province that killed 2 US soldiers and a Filipino marine.

Madarang Sali, deputy supreme commander of the shadowy group called the Bangsamoro National Liberation Army, was among those reported killed in last week’s military air strikes on a mountain hideout of the local terrorist group Abu Sayyaf in Indanan town where two wanted Jemaah Islamiya militants were hiding.

Sali had claimed responsibility for the deadly roadside bombing in Indanan town on September 29, 2009 that killed Sergeant 1st Class Christopher D. Shaw of Markham, Illinois, 37; and Staff Sergeant Jack M. Martin III of Bethany, Oklahoma, 26.

The Fort Lewis soldiers belonged to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group.

In previous statements to journalists, Sali, also the self-proclaimed spokesman for the Bangsamoro Federated States of Sulu Archipelago, said the Bangsamoro revolutionary forces have declared a jihad (holy war) against the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine government for the Bangsamoro homeland.

He also accused US troops training Filipino soldiers in Sulu of aiding local military forces in counterinsurgency operations.

Marine Major General Benjamin Dolorfino, then chief of the Western Mindanao Command, blamed the Abu Sayyaf for the attack on the US forces.

But Sali said it was purely the operations of the BNLA and the Moro National Liberation Front, not the Abu Sayyaf. He said the BNLA is headed by Lieutenant General Abdulnasser Iskandar, while the MNLF are under the command of Ustadz Habier Malik, Khaid Ajibun and Tahil Usman.

US troops are deployed in Sulu since 2006 and assisting the Philippine military in defeating the Abu Sayyaf. Although security officials deny US forces were directly involved in combat operations, there were numerous reports from civilians and various civil groups that American soldiers actually participated in the operations aimed at capturing or killing militant leaders in Sulu and other parts of Mindanao.

The MNLF signed a peace deal with Manila in September 1996, but many of its members were disgruntled with the accord and accused the government of failing to uplift their living standards.

Security officials said the targets of the operation were Abu Sayyaf leader Umbra Jumdail alias Doc Abu, and several Jemaah Islamiya terrorists, among them were Malaysian Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan, and Mauiya, an Indian citizen; who are all wanted by the US government on terrorism charges.

There was no report if any of the three men were killed or wounded in the fighting. The trio was also tagged as behind the 2009 kidnappings of three international aid workers Swiss national Andreas Notter, Italian Eugenio Vagni and Filipino Mary Jean Lacaba in Sulu.

The Philippine military confirmed that among those killed in the October 31 air strikes in Indanan’s Karawan Mountain were two Abu Sayyaf sub-leaders Ben Wagas, Apo Mike, and Abu Abad. But latest military intelligence report said that Sali Madarang and another rebel Andag – were also killed in the raid.

“We have identified the bodies of those killed and three of them were notorious Abu Sayyaf sub-leaders. Two other (militants) were reported killed Madarang Sali and Andag,” Army Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang, a spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command, told the Mindanao Examiner.

Cabangbang said they cannot confirm Sali’s claims about the attack on the US soldiers, but the military largely blamed the bombing to Malik’s group.

“Malik is wanted by the US government and he is being blamed for the killings of the two US soldiers,” Cabangbang said.

He said government operation in Sulu is continuing against the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya, including those who are harboring or protecting the terrorist groups. “This operation will go on as long as the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya and those that are protecting them,” he said. (Mindanao Examiner)

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MILF rebels reject demands to surrender wanted leader in Basilan fighting

1 Nov

Ghazali Jaafar, the MILF deputy chairman for political affairs. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 1, 2011) – The Philippines’ largest Muslim rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front on Tuesday rejected government demands to surrender a guerrilla leader accused of kidnappings and terrorism in the southern province of Basilan.

Manila has demanded the surrender of a senior MILF commander Dan Asnawi, who was also tagged as behind the killings of 19 soldiers during a firefight last month in Basilan’s Al-Barka town, a known rebel stronghold.

The soldiers, many of them undergoing scuba diving training in Zamboanga City, were sent to arrest Asnawi in Basilan as part of their test mission, but fighting erupted after they went inside a rebel territory in Al-Barka.

“We will not surrender Asnawi based on accusations by authorities. We have to follow a mechanism set by the peace panels, otherwise it will violate the cease-fire agreement,” said Ghazali Jaafar, the MILF’s deputy chairmen for political affairs.

Manila is currently negotiating peace with the MILF. The rebel group accused the military of violating the cease-fire when it ordered the arrest of Asnawi, the second highest MILF leader in Basilan. The fighting in Al-Barka also killed 5 rebels and wounded three others.

Authorities said Asnawi was involved in kidnappings for ransom and killings in Basilan, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region. He was arrested in the past, but escaped from the provincial jail after rebel forces stormed the facility and rescued him.

The MILF has ordered rebel forces in Basilan province to defend itself from possible military offensive.

Last week, government troops also occupied an MILF base used as springboard for terror attacks and kidnappings in Zamboanga Sibugay province following days of intense fighting that killed and wounded dozens from both sides.

Officials said soldiers recovered a machine gun left behind by rebels under Wanning Abdusalam, who was also tagged by the military and police as behind the spate of kidnappings and killings in Zamboanga Peninsula.

But there was no sign of Abdusalam or his group, although military commanders insisted that the rebel leader had been wounded in the fighting with security forces.

Abdusalam was eventually disowned by his own group following the deadly air strikes on the guerilla base on a remote village called Labatan in Payao town.

The MILF protested the government attacks on its camp and accused the military of violating the truce. The rebel group maintains that government offensives in Payao town were directed at the MILF following air strikes by the military on the 113th Base Command of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces.

The fighting forced thousands of villagers to flee their homes to safety for fear they would be caught up in the crossfire or held hostage. (Mindanao Examiner)

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2 Abu Sayyaf sub-leaders, 3 others killed in Philippine offensive

1 Nov

A military armored vehicles drives through a busy road in Sulu province in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)


ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 31, 2011) – The Philippine military on Monday said two of 3 Abu Sayyaf militants killed were sub-leaders and that there were probably two more casualties in military air strikes in Sulu’s hinterlands.

The Western Mindanao Command, which ordered the air strikes on a mountain hideout of the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya on Sunday, identified the slain sub-leaders as Ben Wagas and Apo Mike, and a follower Abu Abad.

Latest military intelligence report also said that two more Abu Sayyaf militants – Sali Madarang and Andag – were killed in the raid.

“We have identified the bodies of those killed and two of them were notorious Abu Sayyaf sub-leaders. Two other (militants) were reported killed Sali Madarang and Andag,” Army Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang, a spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command, told the Mindanao Examiner.

He said government operation is continuing against the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya, including those who are harboring or protecting the terrorist groups. “This operation will go on as long as the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya and those that are protecting them,” the official said.

Air force OV-10 bombers targeted the groups’ hideout in the mountainous area of Karawan in Indanan town.

The targets of the operation were Abu Sayyaf leader Umbra Jumdail alias Doc Abu, and several Jemaah Islamiya terrorists, among them were Malaysian Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan, and Mauiya, an Indian citizen; who are all wanted by the US government on terrorism charges.

There was no report if any of the three men were killed or wounded in the fighting.

The trio was also tagged as behind the 2009 kidnappings of three international aid workers Swiss national Andreas Notter, Italian Eugenio Vagni and Filipino Mary Jean Lacaba in Sulu.

Washington said Zulkifli bin Hir, an engineer trained in the United States, is believed to be the head of the Kumpulun Mujahidin Malaysia terrorist organization and a member of Jemaah Islamiya’s central command. His younger brother, Taufik bin Abdul Halim, was involved in the 2001 Atrium Mall bombing in Jakarta, in which he lost his own leg and was subsequently convicted.

He was reported to have fled to the Philippines in August 2003 and since then is believed to have conducted bomb-making training for the Abu Sayyaf. The US offered $5 million for his capture. (Mindanao Examiner)

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