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MNLF owns up to Sulu clash, blames military


The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) on Thursday afternoon took responsibility for the ambush on Army troopers in Maimbung town in Sulu, an attack that left nine soldiers dead and blamed hours earlier on Abu Sayyaf bandits. MNLF deputy chair Hatimil Hassan said four of their comrades, including an alleged rebel commander, were killed during the encounter at 7:45 a.m. earlier in the day. He said a civilian also died after being hit by a stray bullet. "It was not Abu Sayyaf. It was our troops. The problem is with the military. They initiated the attacks," said Hassan. Army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Ernesto Torres has issued varying statements on who should be blamed over today's alleged ambush. He said gunmen under Radullan Sahiron – leader of the Abu Sayyaf in the Sulu – escaped shortly after the ambush. He noted that the types of firearms used in the attack were known to be used by Sahiron's group. However, when he initially confirmed the incident, Torres quoted field reports as saying that a "composite team" may have been behind the clash. "Initial indication shows combined groups were behind the ambush, because there are indications of participation by the Abu Sayyaf under Radullan Sahiron, lawless elements and rogue elements of the MNLF," Torres told dzBB radio in Filipino. Torres said members of the 33rd Infantry Battalion on board a military truck were on an "administrative movement" when they were ambushed by an undetermined number of gunmen at about 7:45 a.m. The victims were on their way to buy groceries. Torres reported that nine Army soldiers while two other government troops were injured. Hassan said that, "Days before the incident, soldiers were also sighted massing up near our position in Jolo town proper. Our troops in the area, in a move to prevent possible clashes, temporarily abandoned their camp." He said this morning's clash was apparently in retaliation for the deaths of an MNLF commander, identified as Jilih, and three others during last Wednesday's encounter in Parang town. He expressed fears that the recent clashes in Sulu might affect the peace agreement between the MNLF and the government. Habier Malik, branded as a "rogue" commander of the MNLF, attacked a Marine encampment in Panamao town last April. It was apparently in retaliation to a previous military offensive at an MNLF camp in Indanan. For his part, Eid Kabalu, civil military chief of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), expressed doubts that Abu Sayyaf bandits staged the ambush. "We have our forces in Sulu but they were not involved," he said. The fragile peace agreement being forged by the government and the MILF was placed in a more precarious situation after the bloody encounter in Al-Barka town, Basilan last July 10 which left 14 Marines dead. Military officials had initially blamed the Abu Sayyaf over the incident, until the MILF came forward and took responsibility over the incident. Also on Thursday, a suspect in the beheading of Marines during the July 10 clash in Basilan claimed that about 100 Abu Sayyaf gunmen served as "reinforcements" to MILF rebels which engaged the Marines. Thousands of troops are scouring the island-province of Sulu in search for the remaining leaders and members of the Abu Sayyaf, which authorities said have links with the Jemaah Islamiyah and the al-Qaeda terrorist networks. - GMANews.TV

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