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September 29, 2004
U.S.-backed forces fail to get Abu Sayyaf leaders in assaults in southern Philippines

AP: U.S.-backed forces fail to get Abu Sayyaf leaders in assaults in southern Philippines

Two Abu Sayyaf leaders wanted by Washington escaped from a series of assaults by U.S.-trained forces in clashes that killed a marine and wounded an undetermined number of rebels in the southern Philippines, officials said Wednesday.

One marine was killed and seven others injured … Rebel two-way radio chatter and bloodstains at one clash scene indicated casualties among the guerrillas …

… U.S. help in the assaults indicates Washington's continuing desire to help the Philippines crush remnants of the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf in the southern Mindanao region despite a high-profile spat in July over President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's decision to withdraw peacekeepers from Iraq to save a kidnapped Filipino.

American officials are also concerned over the reported presence of secret terror training camps in Mindanao maintained by Jemaah Islamiyah, al-Qaida's Southeast Asian ally.
Posted by Willie Galang at September 29, 2004 03:26 PM | TrackBack
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