Philippine police and military have thwarted an attack on government targets in southern region of Mindanao by the extremist bandits and Muslim anti-government militants, the police announced Monday.
The Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) police Chief Superintendent Joel Goltiao cited intelligence sources saying that top leaders of the extremist group Abu Sayyaf and rogue Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) guerrillas loyal to their jailed chieftain Nur Misuari had plotted to raid military camps and ambush government troops in Sulu province.
Goltiao said it was the latest move taken by various anti-government forces to demand the release of Nur Misuari.
Abu Sayyaf militants and rogue separatist rebels, including those from the MNLF and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), used to help and complement each other in battling government troops operating in their respective strongholds in Sulu archipelago and the main southern island of Mindanao.
Manila's troops, whose training is partly assisted by the United States, has stepped up the offensive to root out Abu Sayyaf,a listed terrorist organization by both American and Filipino governments, since the beginning of last year.
The military managed to bring down the number of Abu Sayyaf bandits to merely 370 at the end of 2007. A handful of rebel leaders were either arrested or killed.
The government has also been fighting against the 7,000 leftist rebels belonging to the Communist Party of the Philippines and thousands of MILF members, who struggle for a self-ruled Muslim state in southern Philippines.
There was a ceasefire between the government and MILF. But as the negotiation between the two sides dragged on for years, sporadic conflicts have never truly died out.
Source:Xinhua
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