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‘ASG getting arms from neighboring countries’


The al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf Group is getting weapons such as rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) from "neighboring countries," a military official said Thursday. Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) information chief Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. said in a radio interview that the “imported" weapons were used in last Monday’s attack that killed eight Marines in Sulu province in southern Philippines. “May nabibili sila sa neighboring countries natin sa south. Ang RPG ‘di natin ginagamit sa AFP. At bukod sa binibili nila sa labas ng bansa, gumagawa sila ng sariling RPGs (They procure RPGs from neighboring countries in the south. Aside from buying abroad, Abu Sayyaf bandits make their own RPGs. We don't use this weapon in the AFP)," Brawner said in an interview on dwIZ radio. Brawner, however, did not name the "neighboring countries" he was referring to as the Abu Sayyaf's possible sources of its weapons. Philippine authorities have said that operatives of the Jemaah Islamiyah, described as the al-Qaeda's arm in the Southeast Asian region, have been carrying out bombing activities in southern Philippines together with elements of the Abu Sayyaf and other local terror groups. [See: Security officials blame JI for Mindanao blasts] Ambush Last Tuesday, Malacañang mourned the death of eight Marines killed in an ambush staged by the Abu Sayyaf. Brawner said the troops were heading back to their camp when they were attacked. He said that an RPG was used in the ambush. One of the slain soldiers was a Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) integree who was buried in Sulu before sunset on the day of the clash. “RPG ang isang weapon na ginamit nung Lunes sa ambush kaya maraming namatay sa ating tropa. Tinamaan ang 6x6 truck kung saan nakasakay ang mga nasunog na tropa natin. Nagliyab ang truck nang tinamaan ng RPG ang mga bala ng mortar na karga nito (The RPG was used in last Monday’s ambush. When it hit the 6x6 truck carrying the soldiers, it ignited the ammunition the truck was carrying and burned many of our soldiers)," Brawner said. Meanwhile, Brawner said they are verifying information that some of those involved in Monday’s ambush were members of the MNLF. As with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Brawner said, some of its (MNLF) members had been known to be aiding the Abu Sayyaf bandits because they are relatives. Peace pact Unlike the MILF, however, Brawner noted that the MNLF are not supposed to reinforce the bandits during encounters since the former largest armed secessionist group had signed a peace agreement with the government in 1996. On the other hand, the government and the MILF are in the midst of peace efforts, which started in 1997, but the talks were stalled in August 2008 following attacks by rogue MILF units. The attacks stemmed from the Supreme Court’s junking of a Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain. "If there were MNLF members who took part in Monday's ambush, there will be problems because government and the group signed a peace agreement in 1996," Brawner said. - GMANews.TV

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