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Muslim rebels lead Philippine jail break
AFP ^ | February 2, 2007

Posted on 02/02/2007 9:07:35 AM PST by Mount Athos

Muslim insurgents using grenade launchers blasted their way into a prison in the southern Philippines early today and freed 49 inmates, including suspected bombers.

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).

Jail warden Red Marasigan said about 20 MILF guerrillas attacked the prison, blasting a hole in the wall with grenade launchers.

As some insurgents kept guards pinned down with rifle fire, others entered the jail to free prisoners.

The six guards on duty at the time were outnumbered and outgunned by the large attacking force, jail officials said.

Most of those who escaped faced serious charges such as bombing, kidnapping and murder.

Among them was Ali Sultan, a suspected MILF member being held for allegedly bombing Kidapawan's commercial district in October 2003, Marasigan said.

It was the second jail break in the area involving suspected MILF members in recent months.

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 the MILF "most likely had a hand" in the latest jail break, adding that the military would soon lodge a complaint with the joint peace panel monitoring the truce.

He said an MILF "special operations group" was responsible, adding that 46 of those who escaped had MILF ties.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu denied the attackers and escaped detainees were members of the militant group, saying the jail break was likely carried out by relatives of the inmates.

He said the MILF used only legal means to get their guerrillas released from detention.

Von Al-Haq, the head of the MILF panel in the ceasefire talks, said the attackers could be sympathisers and supporters of Ali Sultan but denied the MILF had approved the operation.

A hole one-metre wide was blasted in the wall to make the escape.

Provincial Governor Manuel Pinol offered a reward of 30,000 pesos ($A800) for every escaped inmate who is recaptured.

The 12,000-strong MILF began 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.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: terrorism; wot

1 posted on 02/02/2007 9:07:38 AM PST by Mount Athos
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To: Mount Athos

More guards at Gitmo, this could get serious.


2 posted on 02/02/2007 9:12:32 AM PST by wastedyears ( "Gun control is hitting your target accurately." - Richard Marcinko)
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To: wastedyears
Naw, this is strictly, at this point in time, an internal Philippine matter.

The MILF was created in 1978 but the movement goes a lot further back to the time the Spaniards had control of the Philippines.

3 posted on 02/02/2007 9:16:42 AM PST by Just another Joe (Warning: FReeping can be addictive and helpful to your mental health)
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To: Just another Joe

These are the same guys that fought alongside Bin Laden against the Soviets. They came home after the war, using their CIA training to wage war against the government that was stealing their land ...... then it grew from there.

In a way ... these guys are our stepkids


4 posted on 02/02/2007 9:24:25 AM PST by Fighting Irish (My opinions have been forged by where I've walked - not by who I hear on the radio)
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To: Mount Athos
Ok..fair enough.If these 9th Century knuckledraggers are gonna storm prisons to free their pals then the solution is for the Phillipine gov't to string their pals up as soon as they're taken into custody.
5 posted on 02/02/2007 9:25:42 AM PST by Gay State Conservative ("The meaning of peace is the absence of opposition to socialism."-Karl Marx)
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