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Wednesday, June 07, 2006
2 soldiers killed in Tawi-Tawi blast
By Al Jacinto
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- A powerful landmine explosion on Tuesday killed two government soldiers on a remote town in the southern Philippine island of Tawi-Tawi, the military said.
The soldiers were sent to pacify two warring clans in the village of Datal in Sapa-Sapa town when the explosion occurred, the military said, but it did not say if the bomb was deliberately detonated or not.
Two groups of fishermen were fighting in the area over control of the rich marine sanctuary in Sapa-Sapa, but the military said it made no arrest and no group or individual claimed responsibility for the blast.
The military did not say whether the Abu Sayyaf, which is active in Tawi-Tawi and in nearby Jolo Island, had anything to do with the explosion, but security was tight in the Sulu archipelago where the US Navy hospital ship Mercy is anchored.
The ship arrived for a series of medical mission in Jolo and Tawi-Tawi islands, where security forces are pursuing Abu Sayyaf militants whose group is tied to the al-Qaeda terror network.
Earlier reports said the leader of the Abu Sayyaf group, Khadaffy Janjalani, and Jemaah Islamiya bombers Dulmatin and Umar Patek, both linked to one of the two Bali attacks, were allegedly spotted in Jolo and could be planning to attack the USNS Mercy.
Filipino and American troops were guarding the 272.5-meter long USNS Mercy off Jolo island.
A US Orion spy plane was spotted flying over Jolo as troops tightened their guard on the main island where hundreds of poor Muslim villagers were screened by local health workers before they are allowed to board the ship.
Muslim villagers in Jolo have volunteered to protect the USNS Mercy and its crew from possible attacks of Abu Sayyaf militants, said Major General Gabriel Habacon, the commander of military forces in the troubled region.
Habacon said the reports were unconfirmed. "We have no reports about the three terrorists hiding in Jolo, but the Abu Sayyaf has been a threat to everybody on the island, even before the Americans arrived," he said.
"What I learned today after the news came out in the papers is that many Muslims in Jolo are now volunteering to do the job of protecting the hospital ship and those involved in the medical mission, and we were all moved by the supports we are getting from the civilians," Habacon said.
The USNS Mercy is configured with state-of-the-art medical equipment and a robust multi specialized medical team of uniformed health care providers capable of providing a wide range of services ashore as well as on board the ship.
Filipino civilian medical professionals and nongovernmental organizations are also working side-by-side with US and Philippine military forces. (Sun.Star Zamboanga/Sunnex)
(June 7, 2006 issue)
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