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| Southeast Asia |
| Abu Sayyaf kill 4 Philippines marines |
| 2006-05-24 |
| Muslim guerrillas on a violent southern island have fatally shot four Philippine marines in separate attacks over two days, a military spokesman said Tuesday. Capt. Jose Richie Pabilonia, spokesman for the military's Southern Command, said militants from the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf group on Jolo island took advantage of a six-day suspension of military operations during a visit of a team from the Organization of the Islamic Conference to gun down the four marines. In the first attack on Sunday, the victim was jogging at Jolo airport when a lone gunman shot him. Another marine was killed in downtown Jolo town, and two others were fatally shot on the same day, Pabilonia said. U.S.-backed Philippine military offensives have whittled down the Abu Sayyaf's strength on Jolo from more than 1,000 rebels in early 2000 to about 400, but the rebels remain active. U.S. troops have undertaken civic projects for months on Jolo, including dental treatment and school and road construction, and have trained Filipino soldiers battling Abu Sayyaf militants in other southern provinces. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 on one side of the runway are the marines, on the other is a shanty town on a hill. The marines have shown great restraint by not crossing the runway and burning them out of the hill side. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2006-05-24 14:46 |