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Philippine troops kill militant leader blamed for hostage beheadings
[SCMP] Philippine troops battling bully boyz in a central province killed a key Abu Sayyaf...also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya, an Islamist terror group based in Jolo, Basilan and Zamboanga. Since its inception in the early 1990s, the group has carried out bombings, kidnappings, murders, head choppings, and extortion in their uniquely Islamic attempt to set up an independent Moslem province in the Philippines. Abu Sayyaf forces probably number less than 300 cadres. The group is closely allied with remnants of Indonesia's Jemaah Islamiya and has loose ties with MILF and MNLF who sometimes provide cannon fodder... commander who had been blamed for the beheadings of two Canadians and a German hostage and was apparently attempting another kidnapping mission, the military chief said Wednesday. Military chief of staff General Eduardo Ano said that troops have recovered and identified the remains of Muammar Askali, who used the nom de guerre Abu Rami, in the scene of the battle in a far-flung coastal village on Bohol island, where five other Abu Sayyaf gunnies were killed in the fighting Tuesday, along with four soldiers and coppers. Ano said troops took the picture of Askali after his death and that captured Abu Sayyaf bully boyz identified the young myrmidon leader. "This is a major blow to the Abu Sayyaf," Ano said. Posted by: Fred 2017-04-14 |
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