RP forces kill 11 rebels, 17 U.S. advisers arrive
RP forces kill 11 rebels, 17 U.S. advisers arrive
Agencies, Isabela, Philippines
Philippine special forces troops on Friday killed 11 members of
the Abu Sayyaf, a Moro guerrilla group holding an American couple
hostage on a southern island, officials said.
Troops from the Light Reaction Company, a crack special forces
team trained by the U.S. military, tracked down a band of Abu
Sayyaf men on the outskirts of Isabela town and killed 11 of them
in a 15-minute gunfight, Lt. Gen. Roy Cimatu told reporters.
The bodies of two of the rebels were found while the
retreating guerrillas took away the rest of the dead, said
Cimatu, the southern commander of the Philippine military.
Two soldiers were wounded, he said.
On Friday, 17 U.S. military advisers arrived in Zamboanga city
on the southern island of Mindanao, near Basilan island, to
advise Manila in its fight against the Moro rebel group.
"We have agreed that we will listen to U.S. experts and their
advice," Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said.
"We should not be surprised if we will be seeing a lot of
American soldiers showing up in Zamboanga, because that is where
they are going to do the training."
She said the troops would not take a combat role in fighting
the Abu Sayyaf, which the U.S. has branded a terrorist group with
possible links to Osama bin Laden.
"It's very clear that I had told (U.S. President George W.
Bush) that I draw the line (at) soldiers on the ground, and that
he respects the line I have drawn," Arroyo said.
Meanwhile, Arroyo said on Friday her government is preparing
to take custody of a renegade Muslim governor arrested in
Malaysia, adding she did not want him to burden her neighbor for
long.
"I am very grateful to Prime Minister Mahathir (Mohamad)
because of his really all-out cooperation with the Philippines
regarding the issue of Nur Misuari," Arroyo told a news
conference. "I do not want his support to become a burden on his
government."
On Thursday, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said
that the detention of Misuari had put his government in a tight
spot and feared his prolonged detention could sour ties with
Manila.
In another development, Philippine officials have asked
Malaysia to let a Filipino diplomat visit detained Muslim leader
Nur Misuari, the two governments said on Friday.
The visit would be the first public step taken by both
countries in determining the fate of the guerrilla leader-turned
governor, who had fled to the Malaysian state of Sabah last month
after mounting a failed armed revolt in the southern Philippines
that left more than 150 people dead.