The Army has sent elite, US-trained units to hunt the Abu Sayyaf fighters who launched the April 13 terror assault on the city of Isabela. Fighting broke out in the village of Tabiawan between Army and Abu Sayyaf units. Security officials believe Abu Sayyaf may carry out similar attacks, including in Manila.
Abu Sayyaf killed five Philippine Marines, a policeman, and five civilians in a terror assault on the city of Isabela. Five bombs were detonated in the city. Four Abu Sayyaf fighters were captured in the counterattack.
Troops killed seven Abu Sayyaf fighters during a raid in Sulu. The target of the raid was Zulkifli bin Hir, the leader of the Kumpulun Mujahidin Malaysia and senior member of Jemaah Islamiyah, and Abu Benhur, an Abu Sayyaf commander.
The military captured three Abu Sayyaf bombers in Taguig City; the Abu Sayyaf members are thought to have been plotting attacks in Manila. Peace monitors from Malaysia, Brunei, and Libya arrived on Mindanao to monitor an agreement between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
A group of Abu Sayyaf fighters stormed the village of Tubigan in Basilan at night, killed 11 villagers as they slept, and torched several homes. The local militia backed by Philippine troops drove off the Abu Sayyaf force, estimated at 70 men.
Philippine Marines killed Abu Sayyaf military commander Albader Parad, a sub-commander, and four fighters during a raid in Sulu province. Parad was wanted by the US and Philippine governments for a series of kidnapping and executions. He was close to Jemaah Islamiyah leader Dulmatin.
Abu Sayyaf kidnapped two locals working for a US-funded road construction project in the town of Maimbung in Sulu province. The Abu Sayyaf fighters have not issued any ransom demands for the release of the two workers.
A soldier providing security was wounded when a militant threw a grenade into a Roman Catholic Cathedral in Sulu province. Three civilians were wounded in a grenade attack in Kidapawan City in North Cotabato Province. Several dozen people have been killed in violence in the Southern Philippines since September, including two US Special Forces troops.
Three Philippine Navy officers were killed as they patrolled the coastline in Basilan province by former MILF members. Security forces were dispatched in pursuit of the attackers, who were led by a former MILF member named Tanad Nasalun.
Security forces surrounded the remote mountain hideout of Abu Sayyaf terrorists in Basilan who abducted a college professor from his home on Dec. 10. Yesterday, Abu Sayyaf beheaded a Filipino worker abducted from a plywood factory in November along with two other workers; the two workers, who are Chinese, are believed to be alive.
Three people were killed when 30 fighters from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front assaulted a prison in Isabela City, Basilan province. The MILF fighters freed 31 inmates, including two MILF members behind the murder and beheading of Marines in Basilan in July 2007.
An Abu Sayyaf fighter was killed after a clash with Marines who chanced upon an enemy force in Indanan town in Sulu province. Abu Sayyaf also abducted a college professor at his house in Isabela City near Basilan State College. Also in Isabela City, the severed head of a factory worker kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf […]
MILF and the government will resume peace talks Dec. 8-9 in Malaysia, following the establishment of the International Contact Group to mediate the process. The ICG consists of the UK, Japan, and Turkey as well as international nongovernmental organizations. The founder of MNLF, Nur Misuari, was acquitted of leading a violent rebellion in Jolo in […]
Twenty-eight Abu Sayyaf members were charged with the abduction of three factory workers in Basilan province last week. The victims, which include two Chinese nationals, are still being held captive by Abu Sayyaf in Basilan province; security forces have been deployed to search for their whereabouts. Father Michael Sinnot, who was freed from Abu Sayyaf […]
Three MILF members were charged with kidnapping Irish priest Michael Sinnot, who was released from captivity on Nov. 12. MILF released a statement supporting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s appeal that the Philippine government should strike a peace deal with the group before President Arroyo leaves office in 2010.
Filipino Islamists survive US-backed onslaught
In Basilan, 30 armed Abu Sayyaf fighters stormed a plywood factory, capturing at least three foreign workers. It was the fifth kidnapping in the southern Philippines in the past month. MILF has deployed a task force to search for kidnapped Irish Priest Michael Sinnot
Members of Abu Sayyaf kidnapped a school principal in Jolo and murdered and beheaded him. The head was found in a bag at a gas station. Abu Sayyaf murdered the principal after his family and the government refused to pay a $42,000 ransom.
Soldiers captured Asnawi Adan Sala, a wanted Abu Sayyaf operative, at the airport in the southern city of Zamboanga. Sala was behind the murder of 14 Filipino Marines on Basilan in July 2007, in which 10 of the Marines were beheaded.
Abu Sayyaf gunmen attacked an observation post manned by Marines in Sulu province on Monday; two troops and an undetermined number of militants were wounded. On Sunday, troops fought Abu Sayyaf in the village of Patibulan in Sulu province, killing at least one fighter. The military also engaged in an intense firefight with MNLF in […]
An M72 grenade was fired by Abu Sayyaf outside the Roman Catholic Mt. Carmel cathedral in downtown Jolo, causing minor damage. The intended target was likely a Marine unit stationed outside the cathedral. Roman Catholic priest Michael Sinnot is alive and still being held captive by Abu Sayyaf, despite reports of worsening health.
A marine offficer was killed and an enlisted marine was wounded when a bomb exploded as they were inspecting a water system in Sulu province. Abu Sayyaf sabotaged the pipeline in order to lure security forces to the site. MILF claimed they are close to discovering the location of Father Michael Sinnot, who was abducted […]
Abu Sayyaf terrorists abducted the principal of an elementary school in Sulu province as he was driving home with fellow school teachers. Gabriel Canizares, 36, was the only person abducted from the vehicle. The military is still searching for Father Michael Sinnot, who was abducted by Abu Sayyaf a week ago.
Abu Sayyaf bombed a bridge in the town of Talipao on Jolo island, causing minor damage. Abu Sayyaf has stepped up attacks on infrastructure, targeting another bridge and a telecommunications cell site earlier in the week.
Three Abu Sayyaf members were killed and five soldiers were wounded in a clash on Jolo island. Abu Sayyaf bombed a cell site owned by Smart Telecommunications in Sulu province, knocking out service for thousands of customers. The military said that Father Michael Sinnot is being held in the town of Sultan Naga Dimaporo in […]
The Philippine military has set up cordons on Mindanao island and dispatched four naval vessels to the surrounding waters to search for the Abu Sayyaf kidnappers of Father Michael Sinnot. Father Sinnot, an Irish priest, has been serving the people of the Philippines for over 40 years until he was abducted on Sunday.
Father Michael Sinnot, a 78-year-old Irish priest, was kidnapped by six armed Abu Sayyaf terrorists at his residence in Pagadian City on Mindanao island. The gunmen forced Father Sinnot into a minivan before fleeing the area on a boat.
Abu Sayyaf gunmen attacked military engineers who were repairing a bridge, killing one marine and wounding another in Sulu province. In Cotabato City, insurgents detonated a bomb made from a mortar shell along the side of the highway, causing little damage.
Three thousand US troops will rotate to the Philippines for training and humanitarian support missions next week, sparking fears that US forces may be deployed to Sulu province in the wake of the deaths of two US soldiers. Despite an ongoing truce, MILF gunmen attacked and killed two farmers in North Cotabato.
Two US sailors and a Philippine Marine were killed in an IED attack that destroyed their vehicle as they traveled on the southern Island of Jolo. The sailors were from the Naval Construction Battalions and were on a resupply mission for a school construction project. Abu Sayyaf was blamed for conducting teh attack.