| Submit your comments on this article |
| Southeast Asia |
| Koronadal blast joint work of ASG, MILF |
| 2003-07-11 |
| EFL The city police said the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Abu Sayyaf had joined forces in the Thursday bomb attack at the public market here that killed three people and wounded at least 27 others. City police chief Supt. Jose Gili told reporters the bomb attack was carried out after city officials failed to give protection money to the two armed groups. Koronadal Mayor Fernando Miguel has told local radio station dxms that 30 minutes after the blast, he had received a call from a man identifying himself as Abu Sulaiman, who claimed to be an Abu Sayyaf leader, and who told him they were responsible for it. âI recognized his voice. He was the same guy who called up on May 10, owning responsibility in the bomb attack [that day], but there is no use talking to him,â said Miguel. The mayor said the same man had been calling him since February, demanding P1 million to avoid bombings. Gili said, âBased on our intelligence efforts, the bomb attack was carried out by the MILF in tandem with the Abu Sayyaf. The motive is extortion.â Just another group of gangsters pretending to be rebels.He added that one basis for their conclusion is the reported arrival in a coastal town in Sultan Kudarat province a few days ago of an Abu Sayyaf group headed by Khadafi Janjalani. This was reported by the 601st Infantry Brigade commander Brig. Gen. Alexander Yano. MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu denied, however, that the Front was to blame because the MILF abhors terrorist activities that inflict damage on civilians. "We just attack the military..and their families." But Gili said the way it was carried out âwas similar to the three earlier bombingsâ at separate places in this city since February, which have all been blamed on the MILF. But Brig. Gen. Agustin Demaala, commander of the 601st Infantry Brigade, said, in Zamboanga City, he is most likely to believe it was the handiwork of an extortionist group that had demanded P1 million from the Koronadal City government. He added that there is no report available saying that the MILF or the Abu Sayyaf are involved although the name Abu Sulaiman had been mentioned. Sulaiman is one of the top Abu Sayyaf leaders sought by the United States for the kidnapping and murder of two American citizens. âPerhaps, [the extortionists] are only using the name of Abu Sulaiman but this is extortion. They are demanding money from the city government.â Demaala said, however, that Thursdayâs bombing and that on May 10 have âalmost the same patternâ except that the explosive used in the latest incident is smaller than that in May. President Arroyo vowed to give justice to the victims of the blast but did not categorically blame the MILF. Sheâs still hoping the peace talks will work. Clad in outdoor working attire, the President told reporters at the public market, âAll the perpetrators will be brought to justice. Nothing in the peace process will deter us from punishing terrorists and bringing them to justice.â On the impending peace talks with the MILF, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who spoke in Tokyo before journalists, said his government had not made a decision yet on the request made by President Arroyo on Wednesday during his brief meeting with her in Malacañang. Manila had asked Malaysia to lead the cease-fire observer team and had also requested other Islamic countries including Bahrain, Bangladesh and Brunei Darussalam to participate in the monitoring team. Oh yeah, Iâm sure they will be very unbiased. Diplomatic observers believe the success of the peace negotiations with the MILF will boost the countryâs bid for observer status in the influential Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC). What, so you can observe part of your country be turned into another islamic hellhole? |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #1 Instead of murdering in the name of 'Allah' you'd think these lice-infested morons would put their creative talents into something tangible like toilet paper and a better mud house but NO!!!!!! |
| Posted by: Ned 2003-7-11 12:22:51 AM |