ohcrap
COTABATO, Philippines - Muslim insurgents using grenade launchers blasted their way into a prison in the southern Philippines early on Friday and freed 47 inmates, according to its warden.
Three guards were wounded in the pre-dawn attack on Kidapawan City prison, on Mindanao island, in the latest violation of a truce between the Philippine government and the Muslim separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF.) Warden Red Marasigan said about 20 MILF guerrillas attacked the prison just before dawn, blasting a wall down with grenade launchers.
As some insurgents kept guards pinned down with rifle fire, others entered the jail to free prisoners. Those who escaped all faced serious charges such as bombing and kidnapping. Among them was Ali Sultan, a suspected MILF member being held for allegedly bombing Kidapawan's commercial district in October 2003, injuring three, Marasigan said. It was the second jail break in recent months in the area. In December heavily armed men raided the provincial prison in Cotabato City freeing a Muslim guerrilla jailed for the 2003 bombing of the local airport. No one was killed in the bombing but the airport terminal was extensively damaged.
Military spokesman Colonel Julieto Ando said Friday the MILF "most likely had a hand" in the latest jail break, adding the military would soon lodge a complaint with the joint peace panel monitoring the truce. MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu denied the attackers and escaped detainees were members of the MILF, saying the jailbreak was likely carried out by relatives of the inmates. The government has ordered a hunt for the freed prisoners and those behind the attack.
The 12,000-strong MILF had been waging a separatist rebellion in Mindanao since 1978, but it signed a 2003 truce with Manila to pave the way for peace talks. Negotiations, however, are bogged down by MILF demands for economic control of areas they claim as "ancestral domain." Malaysia, which has been hosting the peace talks, has sent monitors to the island of Mindanao to make sure the ceasefire terms are not violated.
Taytay raid kills bomber, nabs 3 (Phillipines)
Friday, February, 2 2007
An Islamic militant was killed and two others captured in a pre-dawn raid Thursday on their bases just east of the Philippine capital Manila, police said. Marines and police officers launched the assault on two villages near the town of Taytay, triggering a firefight that lasted several hours.
The raid was launched after intelligence indicated former members of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Fronts special operations group were hiding in the area, said Senior Supt. Asher Dolina. The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) announced the government had foiled a bombing plot, citing discovery of a chunk of the explosive C-4 and components in the manufacture of bombs.
Excerpted
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2007/feb/02/yehey/top_stories/20070202top1.html
Thanks. Hope things are going well for you. Are you still happy with the new job?
I agree with your Williams assessment.
Thanks for the new thread.
Building Near White House Ordered Evacuated
WASHINGTON -- A federal building close to the White House was ordered evacuated Friday because of a bomb scare.
The White House Conference Center on Jackson Place is serving as the temporary residence of the White House press corps. Deputy press secretary Scott Stanzel said a car checked by a bomb-sniffing dog had tested positive.
http://www.nbc4.com/news/10911278/detail.html