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Abu Sayyaf kills 2 in Jolo
Unidentified men killed a police intelligence agent and a decapitated a man in separate attacks Friday in the island of Jolo, ahead of a joint anti-terror training between the Philippines and the US, officials said.The attacks coincided with the arrival of a small group of US soldiers and humanitarian equipment in Jolo. Officials said the policeman, Henry Elumbaring, was shot in the head near a bakery store in downtown Jolo, just several meters away from where the unidentified headless body was discovered near a garbage dump by civilians. "We still don't know who were behind the attacks, but we are taking precautions to protect the Filipino and US troops, participating in the joint anti-terror training here," the commander of the Philippine Army on the island, Brigadier General Nehemias Pajarito, said. US and Filipino military officials said the training, which will begin on February 20, would involve about 250 American troops and over four thousand soldiers. Police said it is still investigating the killings and officials would not say if the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group has anything to do with the attacks. Major Gamal Hayudini, a military spokesman, said the killings were not connected to the training. "This has nothing to do with the joint RP-US training and purely criminal in nature," he said. Security was tight in Jolo as US soldiers unloaded tons of equipment they will use to build mosques and school rooms and bridges and repair roads as part of the humanitarian aspect of the Balikatan 2006, the codename of the month-long joint RP-US anti-terror training. Filipino and US troops were spotted guarding the central pier in Jolo where a Philippine Navy cargo vessel transporting the humanitarian aid and equipment arrived from Manila. Hundreds of civilians lined up the road leading to the pier to take a glimpse of the US troops. "Hey Joe, give us humanitarian aid, bring us food please," a Muslim villager Abdul Omar shouted as a pair of US soldiers walked past them. On Friday, suspected Abu Sayyaf gunmen attacked a group of farm workers in Jolo's Patikul town, killing at least five people, including an infant, and wounding four others. The attack came barely a week after 20 people had been wounded in separate attacks by unidentified men in Patikul and Jolo towns. Abu Sayyaf gunmen last week also killed a father and his son in Jolo's Busbus village on suspicion the man was a military spy. The group has previously attacked and killed dozens of civilians suspected of aiding the military on the island. Posted by: Dan Darling 2006-02-11 |
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