Once again the media characterizes a jihad attack and a defensive response as a “clash,” as if both sides were morally equivalent. One must imagine the Philippine army descending without warning upon peaceful, innocent Muslims, weakened from Ramadan fasting — and when you do imagine that, you’ve understood the perspective of the mainstream media. “Clash with al Qaeda linked group kills 11 in Philippines,” from AFP, July 26 (thanks to Kenneth):
MANILA: Philippine forces clashed with Muslim extremists on a southern island Thursday, leaving seven soldiers and four militants dead, the military said.
Elite rangers battled members of the al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group on the troubled southern island of Basilan, with three soldiers and two insurgents also wounded in the clash.
“Firefight is ongoing as of this report,” the military statement said.
It was the latest in a series of deadly clashes in the heavily-forested island of Basilan, a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf.
The group was founded in the 1990s with seed money from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.