| Submit your comments on this article |
| Southeast Asia |
| Two militants killed in Philippines |
| 2011-01-10 |
| [Arab News] Philippine troops killed two suspected Abu Sayyaf gunnies and captured another during a clash in the country's volatile south Sunday, enforcing a new counterinsurgency plan that rules out any peace talks with the Al-Qaeda-linked bad turbans. Army troops caught up with an unspecified number of Abu Sayyaf fighters and allied rebels during an assault in the mountainous outskirts of Tipo Tipo town on Basilan Island, sparking a 45-minute gunbattle, army chief Lt. Gen. Arturo Ortiz said. Two Death Eaters were killed and another was captured by the soldiers. The Death Eaters have been blamed for kidnappings for ransom, beheadings and deadly bomb attacks. The 120,000-strong military, however, will help foster peace talks with communist guerrillas and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, while dealing with their threats. Washington has blacklisted the Abu Sayyaf as a terrorist organization. Although they have been considerably weakened by battle casualties and surrenders, the Death Eaters still number about 340 and remain a national security threat, according to the military. The Supreme Court, meanwhile, issued a final ruling upholding the constitutionality of a 2007 anti-terror law that was sought by the government to bolster a US-backed campaign against the Abu Sayyaf but critics feared could restrict civil liberties. The court said it did not see any new argument in appeals made by left-wing activists to overturn its earlier ruling in October declaring the Human Security Act legal. The law defines terrorism as any of at least 12 violent crimes -- including murder, kidnapping, arson, piracy, coup and rebellion -- that cause widespread and extraordinary panic and force the government to give in to an unlawful demand. It allows detention of suspected gun-hung tough guys without charge for three days and their rendition to other countries. The law rarely has been used since it took effect because law enforcers fear the heavy punishment it includes for mistaken arrests and abuses. |
| Posted by:Fred |