Sunday, April 15, 2007 2 Marine soldiers, child killed in Moro attacks in Sulu By Ulysses E. Israel
TWO Marine soldiers and a civilian were killed while seven other soldiers and another civilian were wounded after several attacks allegedly perpetrated by the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in Panamao town, Sulu province, officials said Saturday.
On Friday evening, at about 11:30 p.m., alleged MNLF men led by Commander Ustadz Habier Malik, fired several mortar rounds at the Panamao Municipal Hall in Seit village, leaving a child killed and another child wounded, said Col. Bartolome Bacarro, public information officer of Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said.
In another attack, at around 6 a.m. Saturday, Malik's men attacked the detachment of the 11th Marine Battalion Landing Team in Tayungan village, leaving two soldiers killed and seven others wounded, Bacarro said.
The military, he said, will be pursuing the group of Malik and those responsible for the attacks.
"They attacked the soldiers without provocation," he said in a phone interview.
"This is a clear violation of the peace agreement between the government and MNLF," said Major General Ruben Rafael, chief of Task Force Comet that is hunting down terrorist elements in the Southern island province of Sulu.
"My order to my men is that we will continue to adhere to peace agreement but we will suppress this lawlessness perpetrated by this group," he said in a statement.
He said mortar rounds were fired at the municipal hall in Seit village killing an innocent child and wounding another child.
"We cannot allow lawlessness to prevail. We shall pursue whoever is responsible for these attacks. Our men are ready to suppress them," said.
Rafael said that the MNLF attacks may be in retaliation to government offensives against the al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah who have sought refuge in MNLF territories. Another reason could be due to the heat of election campaign season, but added, "we cannot really say for certain what their reasons are."
Three Abu Sayyaf members were captured while a Marine trooper was wounded in twin operations in Sulu last Monday.
Some 8,000 soldiers are deployed in Sulu to hunt down the Indonesian JI bombers Dulmatin and Umar Patek, Malaysian terror suspect Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan, who were believed being sheltered by Abu Sayyaf leaders.
The MNLF headed by Nur Misuari signed a peace accord with the government in 1996, which also paved the way for the creation of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Then in 2001, Misuari led the attacks against military installation in Sulu and in Zamboanga City, which left 100 people dead.
He was captured after fleeing to Malaysia and deported back to the Philippines.
In February, Habier Malik detained government peace negotiators led by Maj. Gen. Ben Dolorfino. Government negotiators were released later after securing a pledge from government and the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) that Misuari will still represent the MNLF in the tripartite meeting among the Philippine Government, the MNLF and the OIC, this coming June.
