Rebels bomb village bridge in Sulu province
A report reaching Manila said elements of an MNLF faction under Tahil Sali bombed the Talaktak Bridge in the village of Bato Bato in Indanan own on Saturday.
* By Gilbert P. Felongco, Correspondent, Gulf News
* Published: 00:00 January 25, 2010
* Gulf News
Manila: Suspected members of a renegade faction of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) bombed a bridge on Saturday, the latest incidence of apparent sabotage attacks in Southern Philippines' Sulu province.
A report reaching Manila said elements of an MNLF faction under Tahil Sali bombed the Talaktak Bridge in the village of Bato Bato in Indanan own on Saturday.
The Bombo Radio station reported that prior to the blast, several men were seen leaving a package believed to be containing an improvised explosive device (IED) at the bridge.
Marines from a nearby encampment tried to retrieve the package, but the IED detonated before they could take measures to prevent the blast.
Civilian installations
The report quoted Marine Brigadier Rustico Guerrero, head of the government anti-terror Task Force Comet, as saying that the bomb attack was the handiwork of an MNLF faction headed by Tahil Sali and Habier Malek which is allied with the Abu Sayyaf and was responsible for previous attacks carried out on government and civilian installations in the island province.
Guerrero said an encounter took place as troops from the Marine Batallion Landing Team 6 tried to pursue the fleeing gunmen. Earlier on Thursday, a similar attempt to bomb a bridge was carried out by the Abu Sayyaf and rogue MNLF faction.
Attempts by insurgents to destroy the Lampaking and the Dayuan Bridge in Indanan were foiled by government soldiers.
The MNLF under the leadership of Nur Misuari had agreed to a peace settlement with the government in 1996. However in late 2001 a group led by Julhambri Misuari and Habier Malek returned to rebellion as they rejected the 1996 peace agreement.
Attacks on bridges and government installations had been occurring lately since the Abu Sayyaf and its allies in the renegade MNLF group started to shift its strategy to staging sabotage actions. In the past, both groups have been mainly involved in kidnappings and ambuscades.
Legitimacy
A Navy officer based in Sulu said the Abu Sayyaf and the recalcitrant MNLF faction had been trying to give a semblance of legitimacy to their struggle by projecting themselves as rebels fighting the government instead of bandits involved in activities such as kidnap for ransom.
http://gulfnews.com/news/world/philippines/rebels-bomb-village-bridge-in-sulu-province-1.573098
