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| Southeast Asia |
| Military air strike on Abu Sayyaf |
| 2004-11-20 |
| THE military has killed at least 10 people in an air raid on a suspected meeting between the Abu Sayyaf kidnap gang and Jemaah Islamiyah extremists in Maguindanao, a senior military official said Saturday. But the allegation was denied by a spokesman for the country's main Muslim separatist group who said that the attack had hit members of his organization in violation of a cease-fire in place with the government. Four MG-520 helicopters and two OV-10 planes blasted two houses in the marshlands of Maguindanao on Friday, where about 50 Abu Sayyaf members were believed meeting with two Indonesian Jemaah Islamiyah members, said Major General Raul Relano, regional military chief. About 10 bodies were seen floating in the marsh waters after the attack, but it could not be confirmed if they were Abu Sayyaf or Jemaah Islamiyah members, Relano said. Two Huey helicopters tried to land troops in the area but could not touch down due to the deep water, he said, and this had forced the military to resort to air strikes owing to the difficulty of entering the marsh by foot. One Huey helicopter was slightly damaged by return fire, Relano said. |
| Posted by:Fred |