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Monday, December 24, 2007
Australia warns of terror attacks during Christmas
MANILA -- Australia has warned there could be terrorist attacks in the Philippines over Christmas, although police authorities said Sunday security officials had not uncovered a specific threat.
But even before police officials could react to the warning, communist guerrillas attacked a town hall in Samar Sunday, killing a pro-government militiaman and seizing several assault weapons.
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The Australian Embassy posted a travel advisory on its Web site Saturday warning Australians to steer clear of places frequented by foreigners, and strongly advised against travel in the southern region of Mindanao, where al-Qaida-linked militants are active.
"Credible information indicates terrorists may be in the advanced stages of planning attacks. Attacks may be imminent and could occur at any time, anywhere in Mindanao," it said.
"Attacks could occur in the lead up to and following the Christmas celebrations," it added, without elaborating or identifying the source of its information.
Recently, a security forces apprehended an Egyptian national described by authorities as a bomb expert during a raid of his rented apartment in Cotabato City.
Philippine National Police Director General Avelino Razon said security officials were verifying Australia's warning but have so far detected no specific terror threat anywhere in the country.
The 125,000-strong police force has been placed on "heightened alert" to prevent any attacks and secure crowded public areas, Razon said.
Government forces have been battling a variety of threats led by Marxist guerrillas and at least four Muslim militant groups, including the small but brutal al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf, which is blacklisted by Washington as a terrorist organization.
The Abu Sayyaf, which has worked with the Indonesia-based Jemaah Islamiyah militant group and a local band of converts to Islam called the Rajah Solaiman Movement, is notorious for deadly bombings, beheadings and kidnappings for ransom.
The Abu Sayyaf and the Rajah Solaiman Movement were blamed for a bombing that triggered an inferno on a packed ferry near Manila Bay, killing 116 people in February 2004.
Authorities are always on alert for the anniversary of five near-simultaneous bombings that killed 22 people and wounded more than 100 others in Manila on Dec. 30, 2000. The bombings were blamed on Filipino and Indonesian Muslim militants.
Meanwhile, About 50 New People's Army guerrillas bombed a steel door then barged into the Hinabangan town hall at dawn then took an M16 rifle and two grenades from a court room in the two-story building, Regional Police Director Abner Cabalquinto said.
They also took boxes of antibiotics and flu medicine in the mayor's office, he said.
A 70-year-old government militiaman was killed when he tried to fight the rebels from a nearby house, Cabalquinto said.
Another group of rebels simultaneously opened fire on a police station at the back of the town hall, sparking a one-hour firefight with five policemen armed only with pistols. Four policemen were later overwhelmed and disarmed but left unharmed, he said.
A fifth policeman, initially reported by the army as missing, was found hiding in the ceiling of the station, Cabalquinto said.
The policemen could have had a better chance of repelling the guerrilla attack if they had assault rifles. Their M16 rifles were taken on orders of the provincial director recently, ironically due to fears they could be seized in a rebel attack, he said.
"Our policemen made a stand only with their pistols, but it was only a matter of time before they were overwhelmed," Cabalquinto said.
Other guerrillas set up a road checkpoint and land mines to block the advance of reinforcement troops during the attack in Hinabangan in central Samar province, about 560 kilometers (347 miles) southeast of Manila. Army troops and police were pursuing the Maoist rebels, Cabalquinto said.
"This incident once again proved that the NPA terrorists do not want peace to reign in our country," army spokesman Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres said.
"It is our solemn pledge to go after these bandits and put an end to their atrocious acts," Torres said, adding the rebel attack went against a unilateral 22-day Christmas truce declared by the 120,000-strong military.
Communist guerrillas have rejected the cease-fire, calling it a sham and vowing to intensify attacks against government forces. They said such cease-fires have been used by government troops in the past to intensify surveillance and counterinsurgency operations.
The rebels killed three marines in a road ambush in southwestern Palawan province at the start of the Dec. 16-Jan. 6 cease-fire, the military said.
The guerrillas, now about 6,000-strong, have been fighting for a Marxist-led state for 39 years. They withdrew from peace talks in 2004 after accusing the government of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's of instigating their inclusion on US and European Union terrorist lists.(VR/ Danilo V. Adorador III/AP/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Manila. (December 24, 2007 issue)
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