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Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Marines seeking Bossi clash with militants, at least 3 killed (10:35 p.m.)
MANILA -- Philippine marines searching for a kidnapped Italian priest encountered a large group of Muslim insurgents on a southern island Tuesday, sparking a clash that killed a marine and at least two insurgents, officials said.
The clash wounded two other marines in Al-Barka town on Basilan island, according to marine Colonel Ramiro Alivio, Basilan's military chief.
A team of marines were checking reports of sightings in Al-Barka of Fr. Giancarlo Bossi, who was kidnapped by gunmen in nearby Zamboanga Sibugay on June 10, Alivio said. The marines were not able to confirm the reports.
They were heading back to camp when they were attacked by suspected Abu Sayyaf guerrillas, he said.
The clash killed a marine and wounded two others. Alivio said it was not immediately clear whether the guerrillas had suffered casualties.
But a military intelligence officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters, said the rebels' two-way radio communications monitored by the military indicated at least two insurgents were killed and five others were wounded.
The al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf still has a small presence in Basilan, about 850 kilometers (530 miles) south of Manila, despite a massive US-backed offensive that led to the killing and arrest of many members in 2002. The offensive had forced many Abu Sayyaf members to flee to nearby islands.
Eid Kabalu, spokesman of the larger Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which also has a presence on Basilan island, said his group was checking if the insurgents who clashed with the marines were members of MILF.
Philippine officials have issued conflicting statements on the identity of the groups which might have kidnapped Bossi, a 57-year-old missionary from Milan who was seized while on his way to celebrate Mass in Zamboanga Sibugay.
Authorities initially blamed a MILF commander for the kidnapping but the group denied any role in the abduction and deployed forces in the initial weeks after the abduction to help government troops search for Bossi.
National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales has said Abu Sayyaf militants may have been behind the abduction. But army officers say Abu Sayyaf gunmen do not have a presence in the area where Bossi was kidnapped. (AP)
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