Abu Sayyaf mortar attack wounds 10 Filipinos (3:08 p.m.)
MANILA — Suspected Abu Sayyaf militants holding three Red Cross hostages fired mortars and grenades toward a base camp for American and Filipino troops but hit nearby houses instead, wounding at least 10 residents including children.
The late Monday barrage, intended to strike the 3rd marine brigade camp in Jolo town, may have been a diversionary attack by the al-Qaeda-linked militants after they clashed with marines earlier in the day in an attempt to break through a military cordon that has boxed them in amid wild coconut groves and thick vegetation, Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan said Tuesday.
US counterterrorism forces and Filipino troops in the camp were unhurt, officials said.
A mortar round smashed into a house and wounded all occupants, including children. Other rounds hit areas outside the camp or landed in the nearby sea, Sulu provincial police chief Julasirim Kasim said.
Surrounded by marines, police and about 600 armed civilian volunteers for days, Abu Sayyaf gunmen tried to breach the cordon by firing at marines, sparking a clash that prompted the military to consider the use of force to rescue the hostages, the military said.
At least two militants were killed and nine marines were wounded in the clash. The three hostages were believed to be unhurt, said Brig. Gen. Gaudencio Pangilinan. (AP)
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