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Thursday, December 20, 2007
8 killed in Basilan clash
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Eight people were killed as heavy fighting ensued between the government forces and the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf bandits in a remote town of Basilan province.
Muslim guerrillas attacked marines as they held a dialogue with villagers on southern Basilan island, a Philippine marine general said Wednesday.
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Four members of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group and two marines were killed in Tuesday's clashes in Ungkaya Pukan township and nearby villages.
Gunfights erupted sporadically in the mountainous region Wednesday, killing two more militants, said Basilan-based Task Force Thunder chief Brigadier General Juancho Sabban.
Five marines and seven Abu Sayyaf militants were wounded in the initial attack in Ungkaya Pukan, about 880 kilometers south of Manila, he said.
"The marines were having a dialogue with local villagers when the rebels opened fire on them. They started the fighting," Sabban told the Associated Press.
The firefight started early Tuesday when troops from the Marine Battalion Landing Team-7 stormed around 6:30 a.m. the lair of the combined Abu Sayyaf group headed by Puruji Indama and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) led by a certain Sapanton in Ungkaya Pukan.
Sabban said the Abu Sayyaf gunmen were backed in Tuesday's clashes by forces from the MILF, a larger rebel group involved in Malaysian-brokered peace talks with the government. "The marines protested the MILF guerrillas' involvement in the clashes," he said.
The firefight stopped after several minutes when the enemy forces, numbering around 40-armed men, fled the area.
The marine troops conducted a dialogue to the residents living near the clash site, which form part of the area where humanitarian projects are to be implemented by the government.
However, another firefight ensued when Indama and Sapanton's group attacked the troops after the dialogue with the residents in the area.
"The troops were fixing the tents when they were attacked," said Western Mindanao Command chief Major General Nelson Allaga in an interview at a military hospital in this city.
Allaga pinned medal to the wounded soldiers and gave them cash incentives and foodstuffs on Wednesday when he visited them at Camp Navarro General Hospital.
The firefight lasted until sundown as the ground troops hold on to their position and pounded the attackers with heavy fire couple with air assault.
From the initial estimated number of 40 gunmen, Indama's group has swelled to at least 100 men when they attacked the troops after the dialogue.
The government troops had been pursuing Indama for his alleged involvement in the July 10 ambush of military marine troops in the newly created town of Al-Barka, Basilan that left 14 Marines dead.
Allaga said they will investigate to determine if Indama's group was reinforced by the MILF rebels based in the area.
Government troops meanwhile have been observing a truce with the MILF, whose armed rebels are confined to designated rural strongholds in the country's volatile southern region.
The clash came a day after a US military-chartered helicopter stationed in the region came under fire while flying over the province of Basilan.
Sabban suspected the combined group of Abu Sayyaf and MILF rebels, numbering more than 100, may have been responsible for Monday's strafing of a US military-chartered helicopter carrying American civilian personnel. (Bong Garcia/AP/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Dumaguete. (December 20, 2007 issue)
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