Suspected Abu Sayyaf gunmen killed three unarmed army soldiers, including a lieutenant, in an ambush yesterday in the southern Philippine island of Jolo, officials said. The soldiers, two of them former Moro rebels who were integrated into the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), were on their way to a mosque when the militants, whose group is tied to Al-Qaeda terror network, attacked them near the village of Karawan in Indanan town, said Brig. Gen. Alexander Aleo, commander of a military anti-terror task force. âThe trio were unarmed and on a private jeep on their way to the mosque to pray when suspected Abu Sayyaf terrorists ambushed them. They were killed instantly,â Aleo said by phone from a command post in Indanan town where troops mounted a pursuit operation against the attackers.Among those killed was a lieutenant and a corporal, who were former members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) that forged a peace deal with the government in September 1996. The trio, Aleo said, were members of the armyâs 53rd Infantry Battalion which is actively involved in humanitarian mission in Jolo Island, about 950 km south of Manila. âIt was a treacherous attack and three good soldiers â two of them Muslims â have been killed. We condemn the attack, but this will not stop us from carrying out of mission of peace,â Aleo said.
Military reports blamed an Abu Sayyaf group led by Umbra Jumdail alias Dr. Abu for the attack. Troops have been tracking down Jumdail the past weeks in Jolo island. Last month, soldiers stormed Jumdailâs hideout in Indananâs Tarang village, but he escaped along with militant leader Albader Parad. The duo were among a dozen known Abu Sayyaf leaders wanted by government forces in connection with the killing of kidnapped Californian tourist Guillermo Sobero in 2001 and Kansas missionary Martin Burham in 2002. Government forces captured early this year Parad and Jumdailâs jungle camp in Joloâs Karawan mountain complex after killing and wounding more than three dozen militants in two weeks of fierce fighting.