Background for Philippines' army op. - July 11 massacre of rubber workers by Islamists ASG
 |
 |
6 killed, 22 hurt in Basilan ambush - The Daily Tribune
Written by Mario J. Mallari Thursday, 12 July 2012 00:00
Suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits ambushed a convoy of rubber plantation workers escorted by government militiamen in Sumisip town, Basilan province yesterday, killing six persons and wounding 22 others.
Abu Sayyaf attack kills 6 rubber plantation workers | Inquirer News
10:57 pm | Wednesday, July 11th, 2012
ZAMBOANGA CITY-Six rubber plantation workers were killed while 27 others were wounded when Abu Sayyaf gunmen ambushed a vehicle ferrying them to work in Tumahubong in Sumisip, Basilan, early Thursday.
Taha Katoh, the manager of Tumahubong Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Integrated Development Cooperative (TARBIDC), told the Inquirer by phone that the workers were aboard a truck on the way to their work area near Sapah Bulak when they were ambushed past 6 a.m.
"This is the biggest number of casualties we suffered from the Abu Sayyaf for refusing to give in to their extortion," said Katoh, adding that it was the third ambush on the cooperative's workers.
Herculano Dalumbar, the TARBIDC vice chair, identified the slain workers as Bonifacio Estoquia, Larry Mangaran Sr., Albert Parang, Dante Benundo, Loreto Jimenez Jr. and Allan John Pascua.
Pascua was initially wounded and was being rushed to a hospital when he died.
Dalumbar decried the attack, saying the cooperative did not have money to pay the Abu Sayyaf's demand of P300,000 in initial payment and a monthly protection fee of P100,000.
"This plantation is owned by workers who are striving hard to feed their families," he said.
Col. Ramon Yogyog, Task Force Basilan commander, said the Abu Sayyaf has been harassing businesses in Basilan. He said Wednesday's ambush was the latest of the Abu Sayyaf's atrocities.
On Oct. 22 last year, Yogyog said the Abu Sayyaf killed four rubber plantation workers.
"The Abu Sayyaf has stepped up its attacks now," Yogyog said.
He said when the bandits attacked the workers yesterday, soldiers were busy helping secure the registration of voters in Basilan, a province in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and could not quickly come to the aid of the workers.
Julie Alipala, Inquirer Mindanao
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/227497/abu-sayyaf-attack-kills-6-rubber-plantation-workers
Abu Sayyaf' bandits kill 6 in Basilan | Sun.Star
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
MANILA (Updated) -- Suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits ambushed a truckload of rubber plantation laborers in the restive southern Philippines on Wednesday, killing six and wounding 22, officials said.
The army commander on Basilan Island, the bandits' stronghold, blamed the al-Qaida-linked group for the violence, which came despite efforts by US-trained Philippine forces to put an end to decades of bombings and ransom kidnappings by the extremists in the predominantly Christian nation.
Colonel Arthur Ang said the ambush targeted workers from a rubber plantation that refused to pay the bandits' extortion demands.
The workers were traveling on a truck when the gunmen opened fire, killing five workers and one government militiaman. Twenty-two others were wounded.
The government-armed militia, which provides security for the plantation, repulsed the attackers, Ang said.
The ambush came a day after eight soldiers were wounded when their convoy ran over a homemade bomb in the same area near Sumisip town, said military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Cabangbang.
He said troops were sent to guard voters who were registering for next year's elections in an autonomous Muslim region that includes Basilan.
Abu Sayyaf bandits have targeted the Basilan rubber plantation previously over ransom demands.
Three militiamen were killed in an ambush in April, and in 2010, the bandits abducted and later killed three workers after they failed to collect a ransom.
A decade ago, US troops deployed in the southern Philippines to train Filipino soldiers to battle the Abu Sayyaf amid several high-profile kidnapping sprees and terrorist attacks.
Philippine offensives have weakened the Abu Sayyaf members but they remain a threat and are still holding at least five foreign hostages, apparently in an attempt to raise funds for food and weapons in their jungle hideouts. (AP)
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/breaking-news/2012/07/11/abu-sayyaf-bandits-kill-6-basilan-231357