Terrorists kill 11 in Philippines raid
Source: Agencies |
February 28, 2010, Sunday
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Print Edition
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SUSPECTED al-Qaida-linked militants killed 11 people in a raid on a village in the southern Philippines early yesterday in the country's worst militant attack on civilians in nine years.
Gunmen from the extremist Abu Sayyaf group backed by renegade Muslim separatist rebels fired grenade launchers and automatic rifles on houses while residents were asleep.
One government-armed militia-man and 10 civilians died in the attack on the village of Tubigan on the island province of Basilan, said deputy regional police commander Sonny David.
"The villagers were sleeping when the Abu Sayyaf came with their guns blazing. They spared no one, not even the children," David said.
Four children were among those killed, said armed forces spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Romeo Brawner. He corrected an earlier report that the target of the attack was the village's militia detachment.
"They really attacked the villagers," he said.
One of the villagers, who are mostly citrus farmers, told police he was awakened by the sound of gunfire and saw blood oozing from his body, David said.
The gunmen strafed and torched at least 10 houses before escaping, David said, adding that local police initially reported at least 10 villagers were wounded in addition to the 11 killed.
A woman, 32, and her one-year-old daughter burned to death in their house, he said. At least 11 who suffered burns and gunshot wounds were brought by boat to two hospitals in the nearby port city of Zamboanga, hospital staff said.
David said about 70 Abu Sayyaf gunmen backed by rogue elements of the Muslim separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front were involved in the deadly attack.
Mohagher Iqbal, the chief rebel negotiator in peace talks with the government, said his group's local cease-fire committee reported no members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front were involved.
The attack came in the wake of the recent killing of an Abu Sayyaf commander and arrest of two key members. Government forces had been on alert for reprisal attacks.
Gunmen from the extremist Abu Sayyaf group backed by renegade Muslim separatist rebels fired grenade launchers and automatic rifles on houses while residents were asleep.
One government-armed militia-man and 10 civilians died in the attack on the village of Tubigan on the island province of Basilan, said deputy regional police commander Sonny David.
"The villagers were sleeping when the Abu Sayyaf came with their guns blazing. They spared no one, not even the children," David said.
Four children were among those killed, said armed forces spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Romeo Brawner. He corrected an earlier report that the target of the attack was the village's militia detachment.
"They really attacked the villagers," he said.
One of the villagers, who are mostly citrus farmers, told police he was awakened by the sound of gunfire and saw blood oozing from his body, David said.
The gunmen strafed and torched at least 10 houses before escaping, David said, adding that local police initially reported at least 10 villagers were wounded in addition to the 11 killed.
A woman, 32, and her one-year-old daughter burned to death in their house, he said. At least 11 who suffered burns and gunshot wounds were brought by boat to two hospitals in the nearby port city of Zamboanga, hospital staff said.
David said about 70 Abu Sayyaf gunmen backed by rogue elements of the Muslim separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front were involved in the deadly attack.
Mohagher Iqbal, the chief rebel negotiator in peace talks with the government, said his group's local cease-fire committee reported no members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front were involved.
The attack came in the wake of the recent killing of an Abu Sayyaf commander and arrest of two key members. Government forces had been on alert for reprisal attacks.
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