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| Southeast Asia |
| Filipino police kill eight escapees |
| 2004-04-11 |
| EIGHT prisoners who escaped from a Philippines jail with 53 others have been killed and 19 recaptured by pursuing forces, according to officials. A pistol had been smuggled into the jail in Isabela City, the capital of Basilan Island, and was used by a prisoner to seize guns from guards to launch the breakout yesterday, officials said. Twenty of those who bolted from the jail, which holds 137 inmates, are believed to be rebels from the Abu Sayyaf Muslim extremist group. Among those who escaped were Abu Sayyaf leaders Abu Black, Abu Burhan and Abdulaziz Naya. They were awaiting trial for numerous abductions. "Probably it will take a long time before we get all of them," provincial governor Wahab Akbar said. "But we will not stop the hunt until all prisoners are recaptured." "I have ordered security forces to shoot and kill the escapees if they fight back." Looks like someone has got a clue. He said by the latest count 19 had been recaptured and eight killed, five of whom were Abu Sayyaf members. Twenty-six remain at large somewhere in Basilan, an island with large forest cover and a known lair for armed Muslim groups, including the Abu Sayyaf. Quoting jail guards, provincial spokesman Christopher Puno said an inmate’s wife smuggled in a .45-calibre pistol, which the inmates used to overpower the guards. They also seized a shotgun and two M-16 rifles equipped with grenade launchers from the guards, he said. The jailbreak came just two days after soldiers outside Isabela killed six alleged Abu Sayyaf members, including Hamsiraji Sali, one of five guerilla leaders wanted by Washington over the deaths of two American hostages. Senior Inspector William Gadayan said the escape might have been in retaliation for Sali’s death and an effort by Abu Sayyaf to regroup. Six suspected Abu Sayyaf members were arrested in Manila last month for allegedly planning a "Madrid-level" series of bombings targeting shopping malls and railways. One has been freed on bail. Abu Sayyaf members involved in the kidnapping of three Americans, one of whom was killed, in 2001 are allegedly among the six. FBI agents would be allowed to interview some of the captives, Justice Secretary Merceditas Gutierrez said yesterday. |
| Posted by:tipper |