Recently in Philippines Category

PETALING JAYA: Zulkifli Abdul Hir, born in Muar in 1966, was a telecommunications engineer trained in the United States.

Zulkifli, whose aliases included Marwan and Musa, was believed to be the head of the Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM), accused of being a senior member of the regional terror network Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and blamed for multiple bomb attacks in the Philippines.

He was a protege of JI bomb expert Dr Azahari Hussin, a Malaysian killed by an Indonesian anti-terrorism unit on Nov 9, 2005.

He was wanted for his role in leading KMM in a Southern Bank robbery in Petaling Jaya in May 2001, and the murder of Lunas assemblyman Dr Joe Fernandez and the bombing of a Hindu temple in Pudu, both in 2000.

He fled to Indonesia where he was believed to be involved in the Bali bombing in 2002, which claimed more than 200 lives. It is thought that he then escaped to Jolo Island in Southern Philippines in 2003.

In the Philippines, he cooperated with Abu Sayyaf and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to attack and bomb several American interests and military bases there.

This led him to being placed in the top 10 list of the world's most wanted terrorists with a US$5mil (M15mil) bounty on his head.

He was also high on the Philippines police's wanted list after two of their personnel were killed in a clash when they attempted to approach his hideout near Manila in August 2006.

Marwan had also been accused of helping to secure funds and weapons for Abu Sayyaf from foreign donors.

In March 2010, the Philippines marines launched an assault against Marwan, killing at least seven al-Qaeda linked militants in a raid at Laminusa Island, off southern Sulu province.

However, he managed to escape.

In October last year, Marwan fled from a military assault by the Philippines, which killed three Abu Sayyaf commanders and two other militants near the Indanan town in southern Sulu province.

His brother-in-law, Taufik Abdul Halim, was caught when he tried to set off a bomb at Plaza Atrium in Jakarta in 2001.

However, he ended up losing part of his right leg when the bomb exploded prematurely.

MUAR: The mother of Jemaah Islamiyah leader Zulkifli Abdul Hir, who was killed in a raid by the Philippine authorities, wants the body of her long-lost son brought home for burial here.

Aminah Abdul Aziz, 64, who lives in Kampung Jeram Masjid in Bakri, said if it was indeed true that her son had been killed in the Philippines, she wanted the Malaysian and the Philippine authorities to help bring his body back.

“I was shocked to be informed of his death as I have not received any news or heard from him since he left home over 12 years ago.

“He was an engineer with a telecommunications company in Kuala Lumpur. But one day, he came home with his wife and three children. He told me he wanted to send his family to Kluang. Soon after that, he disappeared,” she said at her house.

Zulkifli, also known as Marwan, had a RM15mil bounty on his head and was among those killed during a raid in a militant camp on a southern Philippine island yesterday.

Aminah, who now lives with an Indonesian maid, said she had prayed every day for Marwan's return, hoping that her son would leave the Jemaah Islamiyah struggle.

She said she had been told by relatives and some police personnel that her son had joined the regional terrorist network some years back and was living in the Philippines.

“If it is true that he has died, please bring his body home to Muar,” she appealed.

The intrepid mujadehin, keeping the world safe from joy: the hotel was packed with wedding guests. "Wedding tragedy: Hotel bomb kills 3, wounds dozens in Philippines," from MSNBC, November 29 (thanks to Kenneth):

MANILA, Philippines — Suspected Islamic militants detonated a powerful bomb that killed at least three people and wounded 27 others in a budget hotel packed with wedding guests in the southern Philippines, officials said Monday.

Investigators believe the blast and ensuing fire that gutted the two-story Atilano Pension House in downtown Zamboanga City late Sunday was a terrorist strike and that it was not linked to the wedding, city police director Edwin de Ocampo said.

Nothing personal, just blowing up your hotel.

Still, many of the victims were from a group of more than 20 people who occupied six of the hotel's 35 rooms for a planned ceremony Monday.

Citing witnesses, the BBC reported that the explosion destroyed the upper levels of the hotel.

"We should not show that we're panicking because that is what these troublemakers relish to see," Zamboanga Mayor Celso Lobregat told The Associated Press by telephone. "We have good leads. We will get all of them."

TNT powder

The blast was believed to be one of two simultaneous bombings planned by al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaff militants. The other would have been on nearby Basilan island, where two explosives were separately found and safely defused by authorities in Isabela city on Sunday, de Ocampo said.

The hotel blast, caused by about 22 pounds of TNT powder, was one of the most high-profile bombings this year blamed on the Abu Sayyaf.

The blast was so powerful it caused much of the second floor to collapse, blew off the hotel's roof and shattered glass panes and windows from nearby buildings, Lobregat added.

Two of the wounded were in serious condition and more than a dozen others remained confined in a hospital, he said.

Volatile region

Zamboanga City, a predominantly Christian trading hub 540 miles south of Manila, is located in a volatile region long troubled by a decades-long Muslim insurgency, extortion gangs and kidnap for ransom syndicates.

Was this the target, or a possible "work accident?"

The blast occurred in room 226 on the second floor of the hotel, instantly killing two people staying in two adjacent rooms, which were devastated by the blast. A third body was found Monday on the ground floor, pinned by the cement slabs that collapsed from above, Lobregat said....

MILF wants a "no go zone" of its own, even as it still plays at negotiating with Manila. "Philippine Muslim rebels ready 'to fight' if attacked," from Agence France Presse, October 31:

Muslim rebels in the Philippines are ready to "fight back" after the government warned it would go after them if they sheltered outlaws, a spokesman said Monday.

Fighters from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are prepared for a possible assault, their spokesman Von al-Haq said, adding the group remains committed to peace talks with the government.

"We have already ordered our men on the ground to be in defensive positions. But that is over the apprehension that there may be an attack," he told reporters.

"If we are pushed to the wall, we have to fight back. That's very clear."

His warnings came after the military said the MILF could be targeted if it continues to shelter "lawless elements" -- despite a ceasefire to end a decades-old rebellion that has left 150,000 dead since the 1970s.

Over recent weeks, military and police pursuit of outlaws in the southern Philippines have turned into pitched battles with MILF-linked forces that left as many as 40 soldiers, police and civilians dead.

While the MILF eventually disowned some of those being pursued, it has admitted responsibility for the killing of 19 soldiers in the southern island of Basilan, saying they intruded on rebel territory.

Military spokesman Colonel Arnulfo Burgos said that despite the MILF's fears, a ceasefire mechanism was still in place that would prevent violence between the two sides.

He also said upcoming informal talks between the MILF and the government in early-November would hopefully ease the tensions.

"Tensions." Now, there is an overused euphemism in the mainstream media, sounding as if perhaps a spa day might clear all of this up.

"We will wait for the feedback from what happens in the peace talks in November," Burgos said.

Accidental? Sure, the army just happened to get in the way of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front's bullets. Later, the captive soldiers' necks happened to get in the way of their machetes.

Yeah. That's it. These things happen. "Philippine leader says no offensive despite Muslim rebel killing of 19 soldiers; army grieves," from the Associated Press:

MANILA, Philippines — President Benigno Aquino III said Thursday he would not resort to ordering an army offensive against Muslim guerrillas who killed 19 army soldiers in the southern Philippines despite a clamor for tougher government action.

Tuesday’s intense fighting on southern Basilan island between army special forces and members of the 11,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front killed 25 combatants, including six guerrillas. It was some of the deadliest fighting since 2008, when peace talks bogged down and ignited widespread clashes that killed hundreds and displaced 750,000 people.

A cease-fire guarded by a Malaysia-led peacekeeping contingent had held until Tuesday.

The rebels have waged a bloody insurgency for self-rule in the southern Mindanao region, the homeland of minority Muslims in the predominantly Roman Catholic Philippines. The conflict has killed more than 120,000 people in nearly four decades.

The military and the guerrillas accused each other of instigating Tuesday’s clash. Both planned to protest before a government-rebel truce committee.

Army officials, angered by their heavy loss, also publicly disagreed with officials handling peace talks with the Moro rebels. Government negotiator Marvic Leonen said the clash was accidental and peace talks would proceed.

“Maybe in his perspective that was a misencounter because he doesn’t treat the rebels anymore as enemies,” army spokesman Col. Antonio Parlade told DZRH radio.

Parlade said six of the soldiers ran out of ammunition while the gunbattle raged and were taken captive by the guerrillas. They were later found dead with hack wounds, sparking anger in the 120,000-strong military.....

It sure sounds like the MILF jihadists are really committed to peace, doesn't it?

You'll never guess why the churches are now constant guard. "Christians dispossessed and silenced in Mindanao," from Asia News, September 29:

Manila (AsiaNews) - In Jolo, Marawi, Basilan and other areas of Mindanao, the Christian minority is suffering harassment and pressure from the Muslim population, AsiaNews' sources in Mindanao say. Government officials are forcing Christians to sell their land to make room for Chinese industries.

According to sources, the climate of impunity, the abductions, the continuing clashes between the army and extremist Islamic groups and the economic crisis have created an unbearable atmosphere for the Christian population, who are afraid to express their faith in public.

"Jolo Cathedral", they explain, "is located at the center of the city, and has always been a symbol of unity and friendship between Muslims and Christians. Until a few years ago, the main door was open at all hours, but due to the continuous episodes of vandalism, the Cathedral can now be accessed only through the side entrance. The churchyard is guarded day and night by military and police."

Sources say that the situation is the same in Basilan and Cotabato. Here in recent weeks both churches were hit with paper bombs that damaged the part of the walls and windows. These acts provide publicity for the young extremists, who learn intolerance against Christians from unscrupulous preachers, often funded by foreign countries, who aim to spread a restrictive and fundamentalist vision of Islam. "The situation is very difficult", AsiaNews sources explain, "Christians are not permitted to react. The only alternative to escape is to suffer these abuses in silence."...

They want a "substate" arrangement that would require changing the country's constitution. It would be a win-win situation for the jihadists: all of the benefits of sovereignty, without the full responsibility of acting like a real state. And they would be in a position to continue to move the goalposts on conditions for peace with the central government, changing demands for resources, for borders on the territory, and of course, insisting on the right to impose all the Sharia they please. Again, blackmailing Manila is cheaper than war.

In the current proposal, MILF would also have to disarm. A disarmed jihadist movement would be a contradiction in terms. An update on this story. "Muslim rebels reject Philippine peace proposal," by Oliver Teves for the Associated Press, August 23 (thanks to Twostellas):

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines' largest Muslim rebel group rejected a government proposal for autonomy in the country's south as inadequate but said Tuesday they will continue talks.

Representatives from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front insisted on a substate for minority Muslims, chief government negotiator Marvic Leonen told reporters in a video conference from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where the talks were held.

The government position omitted the word "substate" because that would require a change in the Philippine Constitution, Leonen said.

He said the government proposal contained autonomy but the rebels believed it did not go far enough.

Rebel vice chairman Ghadzali Jaafar told ABS-CBN television that the government proposal "does not address the real issues."

It's about dominance, and Sharia.

"We want to first address the political issue," he said. "This is a political problem, not an economic problem. We are not talking here about economic reforms, which are nothing if they are not given a political solution."

The rebels earlier gave up their demand for a separate state and said they are willing to work with the government on protecting Muslims' rights in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation.

Leonen said the government's 20-page peace proposal included "three components for one single solution."

"It seeks to not only provide just and lasting peace to the troubled south but more so to improve and uplift the lives of the people who have long suffered from the brutality of decades-long armed conflict," he said, adding it was "principled, realistic, and practical proposal."

He said the three components include massive social services and economic development to break the "cycle of poverty" in areas already under an existing autonomous Muslim region.

Speaking of contradictions, it should seem just a bit hypocritical to demand political autonomy from the very entity from which one is requiring "massive social services": leave us alone, and pay us. And for that matter, autonomy didn't solve the problems the last time, but, let's try it again. And throw more money at it, please.

It also included a political settlement under a peace accord with the Moro rebel group that would create a commission to push Congress to pass a legislation to strengthen the Muslim region, and an acknowledgment of Muslim contributions to the Filipinos' historical struggles to facilitate the "healing of the wounds created by war."

He said he could not yet disclose the details of the government proposal. However, any proposal would require "the consent of the governed and is within the bounds of our national sovereignty, territorial integrity and the Philippine Constitution," he said....

On the condition that they disarm. Complete, verifiable, irreversible disarmament is well nigh impossible; after all, "war is deceit."

But there is a much larger issue: the imposition of Sharia law on any inch of the Philippines' territory. If they get anywhere on disarmament, we'll likely see the usual claims about Sharia: it isn't really that bad, the nasty parts of Sharia can't/won't happen here, it's flexible and adaptable to our rich multicultural tapestry, and so forth.

The observable effect of Sharia is quite different than the vaporware, academic-exercise brand of "authentic" Sharia that is wandering around Yellowstone National Park with Bigfoot. Wherever there arises a renewed interest in enforcing Sharia, tolerance goes down, harassment goes up, and civil liberties disintegrate, whether in Aceh or Britain's Tower Hamlets. "Philippines offers autonomy to Muslim rebels," by Mark Navales for Agence France-Presse, August 22 (thanks to Twostellas):

The Philippines on Monday offered Muslim rebels waging a decades-long insurgency the prospect of autonomy, but warned they must first lay down their arms and a peace pact was likely years away.

The offer was contained in the government's proposal for peace with the 12,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) at the start of three days of talks in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur.

"This proposal presents the possibility of a more empowered, more workable and thus, more genuine autonomy of a Bangsamoro (Filipino Muslim) region," the government said in a statement summarising its offer.

The government did not make public all the specific details, but hinted the area could expand and improve the existing Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), which groups five Muslim provinces in the country's troubled south.

The ARMM was created in the 1980s to accommodate the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), then the country's largest Muslim rebel group from which the MILF splintered in 1978.

"Splitters!" Speaking of which, was there any comment from BIFF?

The MNLF signed a peace deal with Manila in 1996, and its leader was made the head of the ARMM, but the government statement described it as a "failed experiment".

The proposal also includes "a system of cooperation" by which the government and the MILF could share revenue from natural resources exploited from the region.

However, for any final peace deal to take place, the government demanded that the MILF disarm and allow its fighters to be rehabilitated into society.

And while describing its proposal as "politically comprehensive", it indicated the most sensitive issues would not be addressed immediately.

"The proposal works with what is available and doable within the next few years. It does not start with contentious and divisive issues whose resolution may not be realisable as yet," the statement said.

Monday's proposal was the first by the government since the Supreme Court in 2008 outlawed another proposed autonomy deal that would have given the MILF control over 700 towns and villages in the south, including some Christian areas.

In retaliation, two senior MILF rebels launched attacks across the south that left about 400 dead and displaced 750,000.

An estimated 150,000 people have died in the conflict, which began in the 1970s.

At an earlier round of peace talks in Kuala Lumpur, the MILF outlined its demands, including the creation of a "sub state" and the larger share of profits from exploiting the region's resources.

MILF spokespeople were not immediately available to give their reactions to the government's latest proposal.

And now, the BIFF vs. MILF update you were waiting for.

This report says the jihadists are fighting for "an independent Muslim homeland that would liberate minority Muslims from crushing poverty and neglect." Therein lies an assumption that the cause of poverty in the area is a one-way street, and that poverty is the underlying cause for the jihad, downplaying the role of ideology.

We have seen case after case where jihad causes poverty, and frequently kicks vulnerable populations and economies while they are down.

There can be no stable society, and therefore, no prosperous society, when violence is so easily provoked in the name of honor, or for the imposition of Islamic law. There can be no lasting, sustainable investment and development when there is the constant risk of seeing those investments destroyed. The conditions to create wealth do not exist where there is perpetual insecurity, as jihad creates, blackmailing a population to give up liberty for security. Nor do they exist where there is not freedom of conscience and inquiry (and access to education outside the madrassa for girls as well as boys), or where the fear of being killed for ideological crimes keeps people quiet and thinking inside the (pine) box.

After decades of a jihadist insurgency, the situation is nowhere near as simple as the report describes. "Philippine guerrilla forms new Muslim rebel group," by Jim Gomez for the Associated Press, August 18:

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A renegade commander said Thursday he has split from the Philippines' largest Muslim rebel group and formed a new group with hundreds of fighters to wage a war for a separate homeland.

Ameril Umbra Kato told The Associated Press in a cellphone interview from his jungle hide-out in southern Maguindanao province that he would not return to the main Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which has threatened to expel him after he led a mutiny in December.

Kato denied allegations by Philippine security officials that he has links with al-Qaida-linked militants in the country's volatile south and was involved in deadly bombings and terrorist attacks.

He said his new group would be known as the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Front. Its guerrilla wing, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, was organized in January, a month after he broke off from the main Muslim guerrilla force over differences with insurgent leaders.

"This is the true jihad, the true revolution," Kato said.

Kato, who has about 200 to 300 fighters according to his former comrades, did not give details about his combat force or say what next steps he would take.

Kato, who is in his late 60s, said he left because his former group chose to "waste time" by deciding to negotiate with the government for expanded autonomy instead of waging a battle for an independent Muslim homeland that would liberate minority Muslims from crushing poverty and neglect.

"We've been going around and around wasting money and look where the peace talks have brought us," Kato said. "The roots of the conflict have not been solved."

The infighting within the main 11,000-strong rebel force underscores the complexity of the Muslim unrest that has claimed more than 120,000 lives and stunted growth in the impoverished but resource-rich south of the predominantly Roman Catholic Philippines.

The main guerrilla force currently led by Murad Ebrahim split in 1978 from the former Moro National Liberation Front, which dropped its secessionist bid for autonomy and signed a landmark peace accord with Manila in 1996. Murad's group dropped its bid for independence last year but demanded a more powerful type of autonomy with greater control over wider territory.

Murad's group said Kato, who used to head one of its largest and most battle-tested commands, resigned last December, citing his age and poor health. But Kato then formed a breakaway group and accused Murad's group of betraying the Muslim cause by going for autonomy instead of independence.

Life imitates Monty Python: "Splitter!"

"They did that without consulting the Muslims. They cheated," Kato said.

Philippine officials have expressed concern over the infighting, which they say casts doubts about the main rebel group's ability to enforce any future accord in peace talks brokered by Malaysia.

As the old saying goes, My brother against my brother, but both of us against our cousin. Rival jihad groups MILF and BIFF (ah, you can't make this stuff up) duke it out in the Philippines: "Hundreds flee Philippines violence," from Reuters, August 10 (thanks to Twostellas):

Hundreds of people fled their homes on a southern Philippine island after fighting erupted between rival Muslim rebel groups, an army spokesman said on Wednesday, raising concern peace talks with the government planned later this month could be affected.

Six people were killed and an undetermined number of fighters from both sides wounded in sporadic clashes on Mindanao island since Saturday, said Colonel Prudencio Asto.

The fighting erupted between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a separatist group which has been negotiating with the government to end a long-running insurgency, and the breakaway Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

The BIFF has rejected the peace process....

Von al Haq, a MILF spokesman, said they have been trying to get the warring groups to withdraw their forces.

"This fighting was purely because of land conflict and has nothing to do with the peace process," al Haq said in a statement posted at the rebel website www.luwaran.com.

"We are confident the peace process will not be affected."

Nearly 400 families had fled the fighting, with most of them temporarily housed in school buildings at the town centre.

"Cotabato City Administrator Cynthia Guiani Sayadi calling the bombing barbaric and un-Islamic. She noted it occurred during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan."

She is clearly unaware that Ramadan is the month of jihad.

"Bomb blast kills 1, wounds 6 in Philippines," from the Associated Press, August 2 (thanks to Twostellas):

COTABATO (Philippines) - OFFICIALS say an improvised bomb has exploded in front of a gun store in the restive southern Philippines, killing at least one person and wounding six.

No one has claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attack in southern Cotabato city. Separatist rebels and criminal gangs operate in the predominantly Muslim region.

Police Superintendent Roberto Badian says the bomb was placed inside a motorcycle in front of the store and remotely detonated using a cellphone....

Cotabato City Administrator Cynthia Guiani Sayadi calling the bombing barbaric and un-Islamic. She noted it occurred during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

They're playing by the book: "When you meet the unbelievers in battle, strike at their necks..." -- Qur'an 47:4

"Islamic militants beheaded Philippine troops: navy," from Agence France-Presse, July 29:

MANILA - Islamist militants in the southern Philippines beheaded two marines in a brutal knife attack during a major clash that left five other soldiers dead and 26 wounded, a military spokesman said on Friday.

The Al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf severed the heads of two of the seven dead marines in Thursday's clash, navy spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Omar Tonsay told reporters in Manila.

'I can confirm two,' Mr Tonsay said when asked if any of the dead marines were beheaded. 'Definitely this is a form of barbarism.' Military spokesmen in the south also raised the number of wounded soldiers from the clash on the Abu Sayyaf stronghold of Jolo island to 26, from the 21 initially reported.

Eleven of the wounded were flown to a military hospital in the southern port of Zamboanga on Friday along with their dead comrades, said the regional military spokesman there, Lieutenant-Colonel Randolf Cabangbang.

He said 30 militants were also slain, but gave no indication as to how the military determined the Abu Sayyaf death toll.

He said the government had not recovered any of the militants' bodies, even though the military reported taking control of the jungle area where the clash occurred.

Maybe that headline might get the mainstream media to stop ignoring stories like this.

In any case, they're only playing by the book: "I have been made victorious with terror." - Muhammad, Sahih Bukhari 4.52.220.

And of course: "Slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them captives and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush." - Qur'an 9:5.

"Muslim rebels set fire to Christian village in Mindanao," from Asia News February 8:

Manila (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Muslim extremists set fire to a Christian village near the town of Mlang (North Cotabato, Mindanao). News so far exclude any deaths, but dozens of people have had to abandon their homes.

Filipino military sources say the attack is the work of Ameril Umbra Kato, a former leader with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), who recently set up his own militias to continue fighting for an Islamic state in Mindanao.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said the front has nothing to do with the incident. "We are no involved. It's a long standing conflict between Christian and Muslim groups in the area," said Kabalu.

Meanwhile, MILF and the government are starting a new round of talks in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) tomorrow.

Experts note that the split within the MILF has weakened the group's leaders, who are open for dialogue. Many now fear renewed fighting between Muslim rebels and the Filipino military.

More dawah and bridge-building. "Philippine Officials See Link to Islamic Militants in Bus Explosion," from VOA News, January 26:

Philippine authorities say Tuesday's deadly bomb attack on a passenger bus in Manila has the hallmarks of terrorist attacks in the nation's turbulent south.

Five people were killed and at least 13 others wounded when the bomb ripped apart a bus as it was traveling near Manila's Makati business district. The blast was so powerful it damaged a nearby concrete wall.

Officials say the remotely-detonated improvised bomb used in the attack was similar to those used by Muslim insurgents who have been fighting a decades-long battle for a separate homeland in the southern Philippines, but did not mention any specific group.

No group has claimed responsibility for the Manila attack so far.

Abu Sayyaf, a group linked to al-Qaida, has been linked to terrorist attacks in the region for years. The group has also been blamed for a similar bus bombing in Manila in 2005 on the same road as Tuesday's bombing. Four people were killed in that attack....

Weirdly, this AFP story concludes with an account of a bus accident in Ecuador, as if jihad attacks against churches were just another variety of accident. "Fresh attacks mar Christmas celebrations," from AFP, December 25 (thanks to Sr. Soph):

Fresh attacks against Christians marred the Christmas festival as church leaders condemned religious persecution and called for peace and reconciliation.

Philippines

A bomb in a church during Christmas mass in the southern Philippines wounded six people, including the priest, even as Christian leaders highlighted the plight of believers facing the threat of attacks around the world.

Military officials would not immediately name any suspects in the blast on Jolo island, but the island is a known bastion of the Abu Sayyaf, a group linked to the Al Qaeda network....

Nigeria

In the northern Nigerian city of Kano on Friday, suspected Islamist sect gunmen attacked a church during Christmas Eve services but were fought off by soldiers, a military spokesman said....

Ecuador

A coach journey by passengers heading home for family Christmas celebrations in Ecuador turned tragic Friday when the overcrowded vehicle plunged off the road, killing at least 41, officials said....

Jihad attacks, accidents in overcrowded vehicles -- you know, these things happen...

"An attack authorities say may have been carried out by an extortion gang with links to Muslim militants." Well, extortion of the enemy is not un-Islamic. The jizya tax prescribed in Qur'an 9:29 is essentially that, given the alternatives of abandoning one's beliefs for Islam or facing war. Nothing says "subjugation" like making people fund their own oppression, and that's what "protection" rackets do.

"Bomb on bus in Philippines kills 10, wounds 9," by Teresa Cerojano for the Associated Press, October 21:

MANILA, Philippines - A bomb ripped through a passenger bus Thursday in the southern Philippines, killing at least 10 people and wounding nine in an attack authorities say may have been carried out by an extortion gang with links to Muslim militants.

The bus was traveling with more than 50 passengers when the powerful blast shook the rear of the vehicle from the overhead compartment, police Chief Superintendent Gil Meneses said. The force of the explosion was so strong it decapitated two of the victims, he said.

Ten people, including the bus conductor, died in the blast in Matalam township in North Cotabato province, said police spokeswoman Senior Inspector Joyce Birrey.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blast. The southern Philippines is home to kidnappers, extortion gangs and a decades-old Muslim insurgency.

President Benigno Aquino III condemned the bombing and ordered police to step up security at possible terrorist targets.

Police and army units interviewed survivors and examined the twisted metal and other debris to determine the type of explosive, Meneses said. An ordnance team said it appeared to be an 81mm mortar round that was remotely detonated using cellular phones.

The driver told police three men who boarded the bus along the highway got off minutes before the blast. Their sketches were being prepared from witnesses' descriptions, Birrey said.

Military spokesman Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang said authorities suspect the Al-Khobar extortion gang in the attack, saying the bus company involved in the bombing had been targeted for extortion in the past.

Al-Khobar is the most notorious of the region's extortion gangs, and authorities say it is made up of criminals and former Muslim rebels who have been blamed for attacking businesses that refuse to pay their ransom demands. The group is on a U.S. list of terrorist organizations.

In April last year, two homemade bombs exploded hours apart on one bus, wounding the conductor and five passengers. A bomb exploded at a Cotabato city bus terminal in February the same year, wounding two people.

Troops last year captured a suspected Al-Khobar leader, Mokasid Dilna, who allegedly trained with militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan in the 1990s. Military officials said he provided refuge to foreign militants and acted as a link with two local Muslim groups -- the violent Abu Sayyaf and the larger Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which has been engaged in peace talks with the government.

Mohagher Iqbal, the chief negotiator for the Moro rebels, said his group had no involvement in Thursday's bombing.

"We have forces there, but not along the highway," he told The Associated Press. "We will never get involved in matters like that."

The demand for full independence has changed, but little else has. They have simply gone from wanting full autonomy to govern the area as a separate Islamic state to wanting to do the same thing while remaining part of the Philippines.

If anything, the revised set of demands would create a win-win situation for the jihadists. If they cut themselves off, they would at some point have to attempt to build a functioning economy, worry about infrastructure, and so forth -- in other words, act like a real state. They would also face more acutely the prospect of jihadist impulses turning inward in power struggles for the fully independent state.

By staying part of the Philippines, they remain attached to that stream of resources, and can continue to blackmail Manila with demands for the sake of stability in the region. It is also easier while technically remaining part of the Philippines to continue to revise the borders of the Islamic state that is still technically Filipino, than as a sovereign nation making demands on another: again, blackmail is cheaper than war.

What remains to be seen is how willing Manila is to overlook its constitution in a Sharia-for-peace deal for this region. "Philippine Muslims drop separatist demands," from Al-Arabiya, September 23 (thanks to Twostellas):

The chief government negotiator in peace talks with Muslim rebels on Thursday welcomed a rebel leader's statement that his group is no longer demanding independence from the Philippines and instead is seeking a status similar to a U.S. state.

The rebel announcement Wednesday "will definitely pave the way to finding an understanding for a politically feasible arrangement that maintains the territorial integrity and the fundamental premise of people's sovereignty in one republic," law school dean Marvic Leonen said in a statement.

"We hope that there can be a lot of common ground" with the rebels, Leonen, head of the government negotiating panel, later told The Associated Press. The rebels have been fighting for Muslim self-rule for about four decades.

Mohagher Iqbal, chief negotiator for the 11,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front, told local reporters on Wednesday that his group wanted a "substate" that he likened to a U.S. state. He said it would not be independent and would be under a "unitary government."

Just like that time Nebraska demanded to form an Islamic theocracy -- no, wait...

"It is not stated in our proposal specifically, but the formulation that we have put up is really for the creation of a ... substate arrangement," Iqbal was quoted as saying.

Leonen said it was a "welcome clarification" of the rebel position.

"We are willing to listen to the concept that they are willing to propose," he told the AP.

Talks collapsed in 2008 after the Supreme Court rejected a preliminary accord that would have expanded an existing Muslim autonomous region in the southern Philippines.

A spokeswoman for the court said then that eight of 15 justices voted to declare the deal unconstitutional because the proposed Muslim homeland would lead to its "eventual independence," which would violate the country's "physical and territorial integrity."

After the court threw out the proposed agreement, rebel negotiator Musib Buat said the rebels had been "pushed to the wall" and the only option left for them was "to revert to the original goal of independence" and campaign for "decolonization" with support from the United Nations and the International Court of Justice.

Iqbal gave scant details about what the rebels sought to establish, saying only that the Muslim substate would not wield four powers exercised by a central government - national defense, foreign affairs, currency and coinage, and postal services. He said it would not maintain a separate armed forces and would only have troops for "internal security."

He could not be reached Thursday for further comment.

Government and rebel negotiators met shortly before President Benigno Aquino III took office in June and agreed to resume talks. Both sides have formed their negotiating panels but no date has been set for a resumption of the Malaysian-brokered talks.

Iqbal said a final peace accord could be completed in less than two years "if the Philippine government is really serious" in pursuing peace.

More than 120,000 people have died in the decades-long conflict in the resource-rich southern Mindanao region, the homeland of minority Muslims in the predominantly Roman Catholic country.

There is, of course, a well established correlation the world over between Ramadan and an increase in jihadist attacks. And what better way to celebrate the end of the "month of jihad" than... more jihad?

"Violence could erupt after Ramadan - Jolo Catholic bishop," by Jomar Canlas for the Manila Times, September 11 (thanks to Twostellas):

A Catholic bishop fears an escalation of violence in southern Philippines after the Muslims' celebration of Ramadan.

Jolo Bishop Angelito Lampon said in the website of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines CBCP) that they are bracing for a possible stepping-up of hostilities just like what happened in the past years.

Friday was the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

"Usually, something happens after Ramadan. That is our experience . . . that's why we take extra-precautionary measures," Lampon also said over Church-run Radyo Veritas on Thursday.

That is also the reason, he added, why they welcome the decision of the police and military leadership to go on heightened alert as early as last Monday.

"It's just proper that they're on heightened alert to preempt any untoward incidents," Lampon said.

The military and the police are on heightened alert as a precautionary measure against possible retaliatory attacks from Abu Sayyaf rebels after their commander and two of his men were killed by an elite police unit last week.

With this, Lampon urged those planning to sow fear and violence to forego their plans and think twice.

"We pray that their sacrifices would bear fruit toward peace, save life, to Allah. We can work together toward development of harmony and peace," he stressed.

But Allah promises paradise to Muslims who "slay and are slain" for Allah (9:111), while also admonishing believers "Let not the believers Take for friends or helpers Unbelievers rather than believers: if any do that, in nothing will there be help from Allah: except by way of precaution, that ye may Guard yourselves from them..." (3:28). Further, "whoever amongst you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them" (5:51).

It tends to throw a wrench in the works of joining together for harmony and peace.

In the meantime, Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Antonio Ledesma stressed that the period after the end of the Ramadan is the best time for the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to pursue peace talks.

Trying to catch them in a good mood, perhaps?

Ledesma heads the Episcopal Commission on Inter-religious Dialogue of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines.

Will the Islamophobia never end? "Hooded gunmen kill 4 commuters in Philippines," by Jim Gomez for Associated Press, June 24 (thanks to Weasel Zippers):

MANILA, Philippines - About 30 hooded attackers, believed to be Abu Sayyaf militants, shot and hacked horrified victims as they ran for their lives in the southern Philippines, police said Thursday. Four people died and six were wounded in the ambush on a village road.

The suspected al-Qaida-linked militants apparently were trying to divert government troops from a weekslong offensive in a nearby town, said Antonio Mendoza, police chief for the island province of Basilan.

Most of the victims were commuters in a passenger jeep going home from Basilan's capital of Isabela City. The attackers were positioned on a hill and opened fire with rifles. Two passengers died instantly and others jumped from the jeep to flee, Mendoza said.

"They were fired upon as they ran. One of the attackers hacked a 10-year-old boy, who survived," Mendoza told The Associated Press....

The intrepid mujahedin, keeping the pious believers safe from... logs? Actually, they're not Post-Christian Carolingian environmentalists. Rather, the jihadists simply found more infidels to slaughter in retaliation for government forces' gains against them.

How valiant of them to compensate for their inability to fight real soldiers and police by targeting unarmed civilians! "Muslim militants behead 3 Filipino loggers," by Jim Gomez for the Associated Press, June 13 (thanks to all who sent this in):

MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- Al-Qaida-linked militants beheaded three loggers in the Philippines in apparent retaliation for government offensives in the country's south, security officials said Sunday.

The killings were carried out as the country celebrated its 112th Independence Day, the latest in a series of terror acts by the Abu Sayyaf insurgency to mark the holiday.

About 30 Abu Sayyaf gunmen ran into the three Christian men hauling timber in a rain forest near Maluso town on Basilan island Saturday. Relatives found their remains hours later, Basilan provincial police chief Antonio Mendoza said.

The latest killings apparently were a retaliation for the ongoing military and police operations, which have killed a number of militants, Mendoza said.

"When they are hurt by our offensives, they resort to these atrocities," Mendoza told The Associated Press, adding that all of Basilan's 675-strong police force, with an additional 100 police commandos, were involved in the manhunt and assaults against the militants. Hundreds of soldiers also are taking part.

This was the second time that Abu Sayyaf was blamed for beheading a hostage on Independence Day after they killed American Guillermo Sobero in 2001 as their holiday "gift" to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Another American was killed in a military rescue a year later.

Despite years of U.S.-backed offensives, nearly 400 Abu Sayyaf fighters have survived in Basilan and on nearby Jolo island and the Zamboanga peninsula. They remain a major security concern as part of a decades-long Muslim insurgency.

The Abu Sayyaf, founded in Basilan in 1991, is believed by U.S. and Philippine security officials to have received funds and training from Osama bin Laden's network.

A ruthless commander, Puruji Indama, led the group behind Saturday's beheadings, Mendoza said. A search for Indama and his men was under way in the jungles near Maluso, which is near Sumisip township -- scene of most military and police operations against the Abu Sayyaf in recent weeks, he said.

Indama's group has also been blamed for the killings of three hostages and two villagers near Sumisip on June 4 in attacks that followed the death of three Abu Sayyaf fighters in a clash with army Scout Rangers the same day.

Government troops have mounted an offensive in and around Sumisip in Basilan, a predominantly Muslim island about 550 miles (880 kilometers) south of Manila, amid intelligence reports that a number of militants allied with the Southeast Asian militant network Jemaah Islamiyah have taken refuge in Abu Sayyaf encampments.

Among the militants is Malaysian Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan, a U.S.-trained Malaysian engineer accused by Philippine authorities of involvement in a number of deadly bombings in the Philippines.

The United States has offered a $5 million reward for Marwan's capture.

The intrepid mujahedin, kidnapping and killing impoverished farmers. "Abu Sayyaf gunmen kill 3 hostages in Basilan," from GMA News, June 5:

Abu Sayyaf bandits fatally shot three abducted rubber plantation workers in Sumisip municipality on Basilan island Friday, after their families failed to pay a ransom, a military task force commander said Saturday.

The bullet-riddled bodies of Claudio Mañanita, Rolando Francisco and Dariel Quintela were found by residents in Sukaten village and retrieved Saturday morning by the military, according to Rear Admiral Alex Pama, commander of the military Joint Task Force Trillium.

"We recovered them today and subsequently turned them over to the [Philippine National Police] and to their families," said Pama

The Abu Sayyaf group led by Furuji Indama seized the three men from a passenger jeepney on the way to Isabela City on May 27.

The bandits demanded P3 million in ransom from their families, who are too poor to raise the amount, Basilan military commander Brig. Gen. Eugenio Clement said....

"The faithful are terrified. These terrorist acts seek to make life difficult for Christians and drive them out of Basilan."

"ASIA/PHILIPPINES - Bishop of Basilan issues appeal through Fides, says Cathedral is destroyed, people are terrified; asks for help from Universal Church," from Agenzia Fides, April 14 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

Isabela (Agenzia Fides) - "It is terrible. The bomb that exploded yesterday destroyed 70% of the Cathedral of Isabela and is now unsafe for use. Thank God, there were no casualties. Today we celebrated Mass at the Catechetical Center. The faithful are terrified. These terrorist acts seek to make life difficult for Christians and drive them out of Basilan." This is the dramatic testimony Fides has received from Bishop Martin Jumoad of the Prelature of Isabella, the capital of Basilan Island, in the southernmost part of the Philippines.

Yesterday, there were two terrorist attacks on the island: a bomb hit a government building and another hit the Catholic Cathedral in the city, leaving it severely damaged. Later, there were shots exchanged between terrorists and security forces, resulting in about 15 victims.

"It is the first time we are attacked so directly and with such force. In the past, I received several threatening letters and intimidation. There have been other smaller attacks, but now it is very different. This could be a tragedy. I seriously fear for my life and the lives of the faithful. However, today I went out to encourage the faithful. This is my mission," the Bishop told Fides.

"I have prepared a pastoral letter calling on Catholics to stay in Basilan, which is our home, and asking them to remain calm, not to react to violence, and to pray for peace. Today, a procession of people carrying candles as a sign of peace lit the city. Our hope must not die," he added, recalling that the population in Basilan is over 60%, compared to 40% Christian.

The bishop met with the civil authorities, "receiving support and solidarity." "One of the main problems - he said, telling Fides about the talks - is the proliferation of weapons in society. Throughout the southern Philippines, authorities are committed to fighting against this. Furthermore, they have assured us that the police will do their duty in tracking down the leaders, in combating terrorism, and in providing security to the people."...

The events that occurred yesterday, according to local sources of Fides, are signs of the "resurgence of terrorism in which several elements come together: the intention to sow instability on the eve of national elections (May 2010), intimidation towards Christians, and a feud between militias and Philippine Marines, present for years in the Southern Philippines."...

Perhaps symbolically, as al-Qaeda-linked jihadists tend to pay attention to that sort of thing, in a city called Isabela. On the other hand, they do like their slaughter wherever they can inflict it. "15 killed in Philippines attacks," from Agence France-Presse, April 13 (thanks to Dumbledoresarmy):

Al Qaeda-linked militants in police uniforms set off bombs and fired at civilians on a strife-torn Philippine island in violence that left 15 people dead.

The gunmen targeted a government office and a church in Isabela city on Basilan island with two home-made bombs, in the latest show of force from the Abu Sayyaf network that is blamed for the worst attacks in the Philippines.

Isabela city mayor Cherry Akbar told reporters that 15 people were confirmed dead, including five militants who were apparently killed by one of their own bomb blasts.

Six civilians were also killed in the explosions, while three soldiers and one policeman were killed in gunbattles with the militants, Ms Akbar said.

At least 25 militants wearing police uniforms were involved in the attacks, according to the region's military chief, Lieutenant General Ben Dolorfino.

They sprayed bullets at terrified civilians scrambling away to safety, and engaged in a gunbattle with security forces on the outskirts of Isabela that lasted for at least three hours, according to various military chiefs.

"We have to take control and assure the people that we are on top of the situation," Sabban said as the fighting was ongoing.

"All we know right is that our marines right now are under fire."

Isabela, an impoverished island of nearly 500,000 people, is part of the southern Philippines' Mindanao region where the Abu Sayyaf and other Muslim rebel groups are fighting for an independent homeland.

Hundreds of US troops have been stationed on Mindanao since the end of 2001 to train and equip the Filipino military to combat the Abu Sayyaf....

Feel the love, experience the peace. "Abu Sayyaf militants raid Philippine village," from the BBC, February 27 (thanks to Mackie):

Islamist militants have attacked a village in the southern Philippines, killing at least 11 people, military officials have said.

About 70 members of Abu Sayyaf, a group linked to al-Qaeda, raided Tubigan village on the southern island of Basilan, an army spokeswoman said.

Lt Steffani Cacho said homes had been raked with gunfire and set ablaze in a pre-dawn attack.

Philippines army reinforcements have been sent to the area, she added.

The militants were believed to have been avenging the death of a senior leader on nearby Jolo island, an Abu Sayyaf stronghold, Lt Cacho said.

However, Basilan police chief Antonio Mendoza said the attack had been motivated by a personal grudge with the village chairman....

Will the Islamophobia never end? After all, don't you dress up in your pilot's uniform for a Sunday stroll? Come on, admit it. "Saudi Arabian posing as pilot held at Manila airport," from Agence France-Presse, January 12 (thanks to Mary):

MANILA, Philippines--A 19-year-old Saudi Arabian man dressed as a pilot was arrested Tuesday after he illegally entered a restricted area in the main airport in the Philippines, an airport official said.

"He was able to elude our security by misrepresenting himself as a pilot of Saudia," said airport general manager Alfonso Cusi, referring to the Saudi Arabian flag carrier....

The detained Saudi, identified by the local authorities as Hani Abdulelah Bukhari, told airport police he was there to meet his father, a retired Saudia pilot who later arrived on a flight from Saudi Arabia.

He was wearing a pilot's uniform from Saudia Airlines when airport security personnel noticed him lining up at the immigration section of the passenger terminal, Cusi told ABS-CBN television.

The young man produced a card identifying him as a dependent of a retired Saudia employee, he said....

An airport report on the incident said Bukhari was enrolled at a local flying school. The school said however, that he was not a student although his two brothers were....

"30 gunmen had used sledgehammers to break through the jail's concrete perimeter wall before using bolt-cutters to cut through padlocks on cell doors."

That had to take some time. An investigation is indeed in order. "Islamists flee Philippines prison after militants' raid," from BBC News, December 13:

A group of suspected Islamic militants have attacked a jail in the southern Philippines, freeing at least 31 prisoners, prison officials say.

Two people, including a prison guard, are believed to have been killed during a gunfight as the prisoners escaped.

Basilan island's Vice Governor Al Rasheed Sakalahul told the Associated Press the gunmen had wanted to free Muslim guerrillas held in the jail.

He said other inmates had also escaped during the attack early on Sunday.

Mr Sakalahul said about

One of the prison guards was killed and another injured during the ensuing clash, provincial police chief Abubakar Tulawie told Reuters news agency.

'High-risk prisoners'

Regional military commander Maj Gen Benjamin Dolorfino told AP the 31 who escaped included suspected members of a Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (Milf), and suspected militants from the Abu Sayyaf group.

Two Milf rebels accused of beheading a dozen soldiers on Basilan island in 2007 were among them.

"Those two rebel leaders are high-risk prisoners," Mr Tulawie said.

"We have organised a team together with the military units on the island to pursue them.

"We've started an internal inquiry to determine responsibility for the lax security in the jail."

The escape came just hours before the country's Defence Secretary Norberto Gonzales was due to arrive on the island, which is 550 miles (880km) south of Manila.

He is facing calls for emergency rule to be declared on the island because of Islamist violence.

The jail, located in the provincial capital, Isabela city, has a history of jailbreaks....

As Weasel Zippers says: "What a disgrace. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has been responsible for the ethnic cleansing of Christians in the areas it controls, beheadings, numerous terrorist attacks etc. not that this would bother Obama...."

"Obama sends letter to Philippine Muslim rebel leader," from Deutsche Presse Agentur, November 14 (thanks to Weasel Zippers):

Manila - US President Barack Obama has sent a letter to the leader of the main Muslim rebel group in the Philippines, a guerrilla official said Saturday.

The letter to Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chairman Murad Ibrahim was delivered to rebel peace negotiators by Deputy Assistant State Secretary Scot Marciel, according to Muhammad Ameen, chairman of the MILF secretariat.

Ameen said Marciel and two other US diplomats met MILF peace negotiators headed by Mohagher Iqbal on November 6.

Ameen did not disclose the contents of the letter but said it was a response to a letter Murad sent to Obama after he won the election last year.

On Friday, US State Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton urged the Philippine government and the MILF to conclude a peace deal before the end of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's term next year....

But in the article's eleventh paragraph we learn that there is an "Islamic insurgency" in the area. Fit to print -- but just barely! "21 Filipinos Are Reported Dead in Election Violence," by Carlos H. Conde for the New York Times, November 23 (thanks to Bill):

MANILA -- In one of the worst incidents of election- related violence in the Philippines in recent memory, a group of more than 40 people -- including lawyers, journalists and relatives of a local politician -- were kidnapped by armed men Monday, and military officials said 21 of them had been killed.

Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner, a military spokesman in Manila, said 21 bodies had been recovered in Maguindanao, a province on the island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines that has often been wracked by election violence. Thirteen of the dead were women, according to the military.

Maj. Gen. Alfredo Cayton, a security official in the province, said in a radio interview that the victims had been shot. But relatives of most of the victims said at least 30 abductees had been killed and many of them beheaded by a group of about 100 men.

The victims were reportedly stopped on their way to an election office to file candidacy papers for Esmael Mangudadatu, the vice mayor of the town of Buluan, who plans to run for governor of Maguindanao. Mr. Mangudadatu said on ABS-CBN television that his wife, his sister and several other female relatives had been in the group and that he had received confirmation that they had been killed.

He said they had been filing his candidacy documents in the hope that women would not be attacked. Lawyers and reporters accompanied the group, although the military did not identify the bodies they had recovered.

"We believe more bodies are buried," Colonel Brawner said, according to Reuters. "Unfortunately, the killing happened before our troops got there."...

Attacks on candidates and supporters during campaign periods are common throughout the Philippines. In 2007 local elections, nearly 100 people were killed in such attacks.

Election violence is more extreme in Maguindanao, where an Islamic insurgency and decades-old clan wars complicate the security situation. Loose firearms, many of them in the hands of criminal groups and political warlords, have worsened the situation in this and other areas....

Our government is afraid of "backlash." The Philippine government, evidently, is not afraid of "backlash." An update on this story. "Philippines enraged as Islamists behead hostage," from AFP, November 9 (thanks to Christopher):

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (AFP) - The Philippine government on Monday vowed to take revenge against Al Qaeda-linked Islamic militants after they dumped the severed head of a kidnapped school principal at a petrol station.

The head of Gabriel Canizares was found inside a bag at the petrol station on the restive southern island of Jolo at dawn, 22 days after he was abducted, but the rest of his body remained missing, local police said.

The Abu Sayyaf had demanded a two-million-peso (42,000-dollar) ransom for the release of Canizares, but authorities and his relatives refused to pay.

President Gloria Arroyo's office said the Abu Sayyaf, blamed for the country's worst terrorist attacks and other beheadings of kidnap victims, was behind Canizares' murder, and vowed tough action against the militants.

"We shall make them pay for the enormity of this savagery," Arroyo's spokeswoman, Lorelei Fajardo, said in a statement.

She said authorities were determined to "put an end to the Abu Sayyaf group's heinous and inhumane atrocities".

Arroyo had ordered the military and police units operating on Jolo and other Abu Sayyaf strongholds in the southern Philippines into "full swing" in an effort to crush them, according to Fajardo and the military....

"When an adult male is taken captive, the caliph considers the interests ... (of Islam and the Muslims) and decides between the prisoner's death, slavery, release without paying anything, or ransoming himself in exchange for money or for a Muslim captive held by the enemy." -- 'Umdat al-Salik, o9.14

An update on this story. "Kidnappers demand $2M for Irish priest hostage," from the Manila Times, November 1 (thanks to Sr. Soph):

ZAMBOANGA CITY: Kidnappers holding an elderly Irish missioner hostage have released a video of their captive and demanded $2 million for his release.

The video, a copy of which was seen by a local journalist in Pagadian City on Saturday, showed 79-year-old Father Michael Sinnott holding a copy of the October 22 issue of a Manila newspaper as proof of life.

"My kidnappers are led by Commander Abu Jayad. They are asking $2million as ransom money," the priest said while standing in front of a white background in a forested area.

"We are living in the open, in difficult circumstances. I am still in good health even if I do not have the full medicines."

Sinnott is being held the boundary of Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte provinces in northern Mindanao....

Eid Kabalu, a spokesman for the MILF rebels, said, "We are not aware of the video. Until now we have no proof of life. We have no photos or video of Father Sinnott, but if there is such a video, well that's good and a proof that Father Sinnot is alive," he said....

If only everyone were so soft. This report, in any case, if it is correct that even Filipino converts to Islam don't believe they will go to heaven if they commit suicide -- a hangover of their Christian beliefs -- shows the difference between the two religions and the hollowness of moral and theological equivalence arguments. From GulfNews, with thanks to Jihad Watch News Editor Eric Schwappach:

Manila: Militants have a hard time training Filipinos to be suicide bombers because of their soft-heartedness, a source told Gulf News.

"Filipino Muslims and Christians, who are converts to Islam, could not muster enough courage to become suicide bombers because they do not believe that they would go to heaven after committing suicide," said a source, who preferred anonymity.

His information came from those who have met foreign trainers in various camps in the south, he said.

At the same time, Muslims and converts could not leave bombs in places where there are children and women, he added.

The "cultural mindset of rebels in the Philippines" has made it harder for foreign militants to train suicide bombers in Metro Manila or in Mindanao, he said.

From an April 18th Jihad Watch archive it was reported that the Philippine government was having talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the terror group which has for decades been attempting to take control of the southern island of Mindanao from the rest of the Philippines. On October 13th the Philippine government agreed "to allow Muslims in the South to draft their own constitution, impose their own tax system, and to form and maintain legal and financial institutions." Ten days later petro-dollars from Saudi Arabia have been pledged to the southern island. From ABS-CBN News:

At least $100-million worth of Saudi development funds are expected to boost government infrastructure projects in troubled Mindanao, officials said on Sunday. US$20 million would be used to fund road improvement projects in Basilan, Lanao and Cotabato provinces, the Saudi Arabia Embassy in Manila said.

The embassy said the money is part of a recent loan agreement between the two countries and would be sourced from the Saudi Fund for Development to the Philippines.

Saudi also pledged another $50 million to boost development projects in the five-province Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said Governor Zaldy Ampatuan, a spokesman for the ARMM.

Basilan, Lanao, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Maguindanao provinces are part of the Muslim autonomous region.

MILF claims to the provinces of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi were forsaken in the government-rebel talks when MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu conceded, "Originally, we wanted the whole of Mindanao- Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Palawan -but the reality is we no longer control all these areas." So one must ask why they are now part of that Muslim autonomy? How long will it take before the Saudi-financed ARMM starts agitating for more control of the rest of the Philippines?

Hmmm. We have seen this before only among Palestinians. From GulfNews, with thanks to Sr. Soph:

Manila: Terrorist groups have resorted to using children in carrying out attacks in southern Philippines, military and civilian officials said.

Major Lao Lucas of the army's Civil Relations Unit based in Zamboanga City cited a report provided by Mayor Luz Tan of Kabacan town in North Cotabato province which said that terror groups are using schoolchildren to extort money from their targets under the threat of carrying out a bomb attack....

Lucas said the students were lured by men who introduced themselves as members of an agriculture organisation. "They were told they would be taught how to plant mangoes. But instead of sowing mangoes, the recruits were trained in making home-made explosives," he said.

The army officer further said the modus operandi of the group is to send text messages to their prospective victims, asking for protection money and threatening to carry out a bomb attack if they refuse to give in to their demand.

Reports said officials are still trying to determine if the attacks are plain attempts at extorting money or a part of a campaign by terrorist groups such as the Abu Sayyaf or the Jemaah Islamiyah.

"Alleged Terror Bomber Captured in Southern Philippines," from Arab News, with thanks to Eschwapp:

ZAMBOANGA CITY, 3 August 2005 — Security forces stormed an Abu Sayyaf hideout and captured a wanted militant leader tagged as the brains behind a series of bombings in the southern Philippines, officials have said. Troops shot and wounded Alex Kahal, alias Alex Alvarez, after a brief firefight late Sunday in the village of Recodo.

“His capture is a big blow to the Abu Sayyaf. We will not allow terror to reign,” the commander of the army’s 1st Infantry Division, Maj. Gen. Gabriel Habacon, told the Arab News.

From AP via the StarOnline, "Muslim Filipinos optimistic long quest for homeland nearing end," with thanks to Fjordman.

COTABATO, Philippines - They came by foot, some arriving days early - men taking time off from work and veiled women in long dresses with children in tow, lugging bottles of water and baskets of food under the scorching sun.

The goals of peace, a Muslim homeland and perhaps even prosperity - such elusive dreams for so many years - seemed almost within grasp.

No one wanted to miss out on having their voice heard by the Muslim negotiators working on a peace deal with the Philippine government.

The rebel Moro Islamic Liberation Front's first congress drew an estimated 100,000 people to Camp Darapanan in the southern Philippines' Sultan Kudarat town this week as peace talks to resolve the region's decades-old Muslim separatist conflict enter what may be the final stretch...

"We are confident, by the grace of Allah, that we will succeed,'' presidential adviser on the peace process Teresita Deles said in a speech.

But Abhoud Syed Lingga, executive director of the Institute of Bangsamoro Studies, believes that much remains to be ironed out.

"What are the hard facts that would tell us (peace) is already at hand? So far what they have shown us is only a joint statement which is very broad,'' he told The Associated Press.

"There might be an agreement within this year, but I don't think there will be a final agreement,'' he said, cautioning that "political statements'' from both sides may be sparking "false hopes.''

The three-day consultations yielded a resolution granting the MILF leadership full authority to negotiate for self-rule.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said the mandate allows the leadership to pick from a number of proposals, ranging from full independence to a federal state, a commonwealth state or a free association state...

Here's a strange one. Have you heard that the Japanese are looking for a couple of World War II soldiers, both in their mid- to late-eighties, who may still be alive and in the Philippines? Well, some reports have indicated that Islamic jihadists from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have the old men and are demanding that Japan play the dhimmi and pay for their ransom. Japanese officials deny this. From the Gulf Times, with thanks to Skeetstreet:

GENERAL SANTOS: A Japanese embassy official denied yesterday that guerrillas had demanded a ransom for two former World War II soldiers reported to be hiding near this southern Philippines city.

"We have no such information on guerrillas," the Japanese embassy's press attache, Shuhei Ogawa, told reporters when questioned about a report in a Tokyo newspaper.

Asked if any money had been requested in return for the two soldiers, Ogawa said, "No, nothing".

He was commenting after Mainichi Shimbun reported yesterday that Philippine rebels are demanding $232,000 ransom in exchange for "delivering" the two men to Japanese authorities.

Mainichi cited a Japanese businessman who reported their presence.
The newspaper did not say if the pair were being held against their will and did not identify the rebel group.

On Saturday Ogawa said Philippines national police had warned Japanese diplomats, who are in this Mindanao island city to try to confirm reports about the old soldiers, not to go into the mountains because of the rebel threat.

The area is home to both the communist New People's Army and the Muslim separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and other Muslim extremist groups. Muslim rebels are known to have conducted kidnappings for ransom.

But the MILF on Sunday said it had information on where the old soldiers were and offered to act as a go-between for the Japanese government.

"We would like to know what help the Japanese government want: Do they want us to assist in locating the men or assistance to bring them down from the mountains?" Eid Kabalu, MILF spokesman, told AFP in nearby Cotobato city where the MILF is holding a major conference on the future of peace talks with the Philippine government...

What's that? The Philippines, you say? But I thought that "serious extremist movements are visible only in Saudi Arabia, Iraq (where they are imported, mainly from the south), Iran, Pakistan, regions of Nigeria and Malaysia, and a tiny number of war zones like Chechnya and southern Thailand." Hmmm. Maybe I should get a new batch of "experts." From AFP, with thanks to Romy:

MANILA - The United States has expressed concern about militant training activity on Mindanao in the southern Philippines, warning the rebellion-torn southern region could become the "next Afghanistan."

Joseph Mussomeli, the number-two official of the US embassy in Manila, urged its Southeast Asian ally to do more to stem the flow of Islamic militant recruits into Mindanao, which he alleged was becoming "the new 'Mecca' for terrorism."

These groups train in bomb-making in Mindanao and have actually conducted bombing campaigns in the country, he added.

"Personally, I'm worried that we're not worried enough. I think the real danger here, and the danger that has been here since the mid-90s, is that we're not focused enough on the threat here," Charge d'affaires Mussomeli said in an interview with Australia's SBS television.

The mission posted the transcript on its website in Manila.

"Its not the sort of threat that should be worried about coming here on a day-to-day basis. The threat is more long-term: that Mindanao is such a lawless -- certain portions of Mindanao -- are so lawless, so porous the borders that you run the risk of it becoming like an Afghanistan situation."

Mussomeli said both governments are aware that certain individuals or factions within the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which is set to begin peace talks with Manila on Saturday toward a political settlement to the 26 year-old separatist rebellion, have links with both local and foreign militant groups.

Manila officials concede militant factions within the 12,000-member MILF are giving sanctuary and even training facilities to the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), the alleged Southeast Asian proxy of the Al-Qaeda militant Islamic network, as well as the Mindanao-based Abu Sayyaf group (ASG).

But Mussomeli said Washington has "firm" information that these camps were still up and running on Mindanao. He refused to elaborate.

"The threat remains and, frankly, in some ways, it is growing. The number of JI that are there, the links between JI and MILF factions and ASG may even be increasing."

Mussomeli denied that Washington was trying to derail the peace talks, saying: "We certainly do not believe or at least we dont have clear evidence yet that the MILF as an institution, as an organization, have links with the JI or ASG."

However, "it has to be a genuine peace process, and not a farce. There can't be real peace unless the links with JI and ASG are severed. That's the reality."...

Interesting. I would say the same thing here about US ties with the Saudis, Pakistan, Egypt, etc.

"I would say that there are, within the Philippine government, those who are more reticent to take action and those who feel that action against various targets should be done in a more definitive and quick way. This is, I guess, a problem in all militaries," he said.

Indeed it is, my good man.

From IslamOnline, with thanks to Twostellas:

MANILA, A controversial memorandum by the Justice Department on monitoring Filipino workers returning from the Middle East, students coming back from Pakistan and reverts to Islam as an anti-terrorism measure, drew fire from the country's Muslims as well as migrants' watchdogs.

Note the use of the term "revert" rather than convert: IslamOnline here reflects conventional Muslim belief that everyone is born Muslim, some turn renegade, and some return.

"It is profiling and discriminatory. It saddens us because once again the Muslims, particularly the reverts, are being labeled as terrorists and bombers", Amirah Ali Lidasan of the Moro Christian People's Alliance told IslamOnline.net.

"Filipino Muslims feel insulted with the issuance of the memorandum by Secretary Raul Gonzalez. It teems with discrimination against us," Lidasan added, asserting that the directive is reinforcing the existing anti-Muslim phobia.

She charged that the memo speaks of the state policy of discriminating
against the believers of Islam.

On March 30, Sec. Raul Gonzalez tasked the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and Bureau of Immigration (BI) to monitor the entry of Filipino workers coming from the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia, and even students from Islamic schools in Pakistan.

He defended his memo as being "necessary because intelligence reports show that some converts become Muslim extremists and terrorists when they returned to the Philippines."

Filipino Muslims have complained of being wantonly tagged as "terrorists" and criminals, particularly in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

They say there is a brewing Islamophobia that has hit places around the world including the Philippines, which has an estimated Muslim population of 10 million.

Right. Never mind that "intelligence reports show that some converts become Muslim extremists and terrorists when they returned to the Philippines." These are just "Islamophobia." What's that? They might protect the Philippines from future terror attacks? Who cares?

"Terror Suspect Details Training, Plots," from ABC News, with thanks to Nicolei:

MANILA, Philippines - A terror suspect on Wednesday said the southern Philippines has become a major training ground for regional terror group Jemaah Islamiyah graduating 23 bomb experts just days ago and a refuge for Indonesians involved in major attacks, including the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings.

Rohmat, arrested last week as an alleged Jemaah Islamiyah operative in the Philippines, told The Associated Press that he had trained new recruits of the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf group and said its leaders were plotting more bombings and kidnappings.

Details provided by the 26-year-old Indonesian martial arts expert showed a close but highly compartmentalized relationship between two of the most dangerous groups in Southeast Asia and partly explained why the threat of terrorism has persisted despite years of crackdown.

Rohmat, who only goes by one name, said 23 Indonesian recruits had just finished jungle training including lessons in explosives, weapons, combat and Islam when he left a Jemaah Islamiyah camp called Jabal Qubah in southern Mindanao island shortly before being arrested at a military checkpoint....

Now that's religious training: "Explosives, weapons, combat and Islam." Just doesn't have the same ring as "Scripture, theology, morals"...

Rohmat said he joined Jemaah Islamiyah knowing it fostered "pure Islamic teachings" but it was too late when he learned that the group advocated a type of violence that he disagreed with because it victimized innocent people.

Yeah, yeah, Rohmat, tell it to the judge.

Rohmat said he was present in a meeting when Janjalani and Sulaiman plotted the Feb. 14 bombings that killed eight people and injured more than 100 others in Manila and two southern cities.

The two leaders also gave orders for new major bombings in Manila and one of two southern cities, probably Davao, during the Easter holiday, he said.

Hey, didn't you fellows learn in your Islamic studies that the Qur'an has unparalleled respect for other religious traditions? Can we get Reza Aslan and Ibrahim Hooper over to Manila to teach these guys about Islam?

Another for our ever-expanding Taqqiya Department from IslamOnline, with thanks to Ali Dashti and RB:

ILOILO CITY, Philippines, As part of Muslims' unrelenting efforts to wash away misconceptions about their religion, a Filipino Muslim lawmaker has recently tabled a bill on the inclusion of the basic teaching of Islam in the college curriculum.

"I believe that requiring all colleges and universities to integrate in their curriculum a subject on Islam and the Muslim is a feasible and credible answer," Representative Faysah Dumarpa told IslamOnline.net.

She said the course would include a brief study on the basic teachings of Islam and the history of the Filipino Muslims and may be taken as an elective subject.

This "will enlighten and broaden the majority of Filipinos on the subject" and help foster "cultural sensitivity awareness", maintained the lawmaker.

Dumarpa hopes the measure would be supported by her colleagues - both
Muslims and Christians....

Dumarpa recognized that the proposal, at first glance, might seem favorable to the religion of Islam and may constitute a violation of the constitution, which provides for a separation of religion and state.

But, she maintained, awareness and cultural sensitivity are also very important, as these are powerful tools for the achievement of peace and development....

I'm all for such a course -- if it tells the truth.

Why would converts be susceptible to the jihadist message? Because they are confronting the Qur'an and other Islamic texts without cultural preconceptions. They can read the texts and see what they teach, and act accordingly. From the Manila Times, with thanks to nevermindlv and Nicolei:

THE al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group has deployed 80 Muslim converts all over the country, most of them in key cities in Metro Manila, to bomb civilian and government targets.

Citing reports from the intelligence community, National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said the Abu Sayyaf chieftain, Khadaffy Janjalani, trained these converts, who were former Christians, early last year in the jungles of Basilan.

In a roundtable discussion with The Manila Times editors and reporters, Gonzales named the Abu Sayyaf as the "most dangerous" of all rebel groups in the country, despite its membership of less than 300.

"Compared with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the New People's Army, the Abu Sayyaf is the most dangerous because these terrorists even volunteer to conduct attacks to win the recognition of international terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda," Gonzales said.

Targets for possible terrorist attacks are bus terminals, passenger ships and other crowded areas.

Gonzales said the Muslim converts, known in the intelligence community as the Balik-Islam Group, are scattered nationwide, but are concentrated in Metro Manila and the Visayas. The military arrested four of these converts early this year in Metro Manila.

"Now we have 76 more to worry about and we hope we can catch them before they inflict harm on civilians," Gonzales said.