Philippine army bombs Muslim rebel hideout

By Staff
|
Google Oneindia News

MANILA, Aug 1 (Reuters) Hundreds of Philippine troops clashed with dozens of suspected Muslim rebels today after bombing their mountainous hideout in the south of the country, a senior military general said.

Major-General Gabriel Habacon said helicopter gunships and ground assault planes fired rockets and dropped bombs on the base of suspected members of Abu Sayyaf, a small but violent group of Muslim militants with links to al Qaeda.

''We've been tracking these terrorists for months,'' Habacon told reporters in Zamboanga City, the political and business hub in southwestern Philippines. ''The time is now. We've located them and we're going to finish them off.'' Heavy fighting broke out after soldiers caught up with militants fleeing air strikes on the remote island of Jolo. Two army troopers were wounded in the clashes, Habacon said, adding that 500 soldiers were taking part in the assault.

The Philippines, backed by US intelligence, is trying to flush Muslim extremists out of remote islands such as Jolo, where Dulmatin and Umar Patek, suspects in the 2002 bombings on the Indonesian island of Bali, are believed to be hiding.

Abu Sayyaf, numbering about 400, and members of al Qaeda's regional militant network Jemaah Islamiah (JI) continue to plot major bomb attacks in Southeast Asia, including the southern Philippines, said military intelligence authorities.

Earlier this year, they said about 30 Abu Sayyaf and about 15 JI members led by Dulmatin and Umar Patek were forced out from Liguasan marsh, an area controlled by the Philippines' largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Manila is currently trying to hammer out a deal with the MILF to establish a homeland for at least 3 million Muslims in the south of the mainly Catholic country and end a conflict that has killed more than 120,000 people.

The government wants to destroy Abu Sayyaf, blamed for the country's worst terrorist attack, the bombing of a ferry near Manila in February 2004 that killed more than 100 people.

REUTERS BDP RK1640

For Daily Alerts
Get Instant News Updates
Enable
x
Notification Settings X
Time Settings
Done
Clear Notification X
Do you want to clear all the notifications from your inbox?
Settings X
X