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| Southeast Asia |
| Armed foreigners sighted in Mindanao |
| 2004-09-19 |
| The military is investigating reports that foreigners brandishing heavy weapons were seen traveling with Muslim extremists in a remote town in MinÂÂdanao, an official said Friday. Col. Jerry Jalandoni, commander of the Army's 604th Infantry Brigade, said villagers reported earlier this week they had seen several Middle Eastern-looking men lugging high-powered machine guns and luggage on their backs in the company of Abu Sayyaf bandits. "The locals described them as tall, mustached, wearing heavy beards and could not speak the local dialect," Jalandoni told The Associated Press. He said the men were with more than 40 mostly Abu Sayyaf men who had dinner and stayed overnight on Monday in the house of a village leader in mountainous Bagumbayan town's Bai Sarifinang village. The group is reportedly led by Isnilon Hapilon, a top Abu Sayyaf leader wanted by Washington in connection with the abduction and killing of US hostages, Jalandoni said. The next day, Jalandoni said, the village leader reported the presence of the armed men to the military, but troops failed to catch up with the group because heavy rains and fog grounded military helicopters. The group was apparently headed toward nearby South Cotabato. "Our pursuit continues, and maybe if we kill someone among them, that's the time we could find out if they are really foreigners," Jalandoni said. The military has previously reported the presence of Middle Eastern-looking men suspected to be al-Qaeda militants posing as missionaries in the southern Philippines. Authorities have arrested dozens of Middle Eastern men in the south in past years on suspicion they were terrorists. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 But don't you dare profile - that would offend their incredibly sensitive sentivities! And that would be, well, it would be a calamity for sensitivenessityous people everywhere! |
| Posted by: .com 2004-09-19 3:25:32 PM |