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Saturday, February 04, 2006
5 killed, 4 wounded in Jolo island attack
By Al Jacinto
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- 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 others, officials said.
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 people 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 Christians and when they answered yes, the gunmen just opened fire," Aleo said.
Survivors said the attackers had long hair, were wearing camouflage pants, and were armed with automatic weapons, a separate military report said.
Major 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 a 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.
Those wounded were Norde Patinga, 38, Jason Patinga, 3, Jennifer Pontilla, 19, and Lucring Casipong, 50.
The attack came barely a week after unidentified men in Patikul and Jolo towns had wounded 20 people in separate attacks.
On Wednesday, Abu Sayyaf gunmen killed a father and his son in Jolo's Busbus village on suspicion the man was a military spy.
The group had 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 of casualties.
The latest Abu Sayyaf attack occurred just ahead of next week's joint anti-terror 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 bounty for the group's known leaders. (Sun.Star Zamboanga/Sunnex)
(February 4, 2006 issue)
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