Posted on 03/29/2003 10:44:18 PM PST by miltonim
FOUR villagers have been found beheaded near the scene of a recent clash between suspected Muslim extremists and Philippine troops on a southern island, a military official said.
The bodies were found on Thursday in Indanan town on Jolo island following a gun battle between about 50 troops and two dozen Abu Sayyaf guerrillas that killed an army soldier and injured another, said army Colonel Alexander Aleo. Aleo said the beheaded villagers, including the son of a soldier and another minor, may have been attacked by the withdrawing Abu Sayyaf rebels on suspicion they were military spies.
However, Aleo said, the elite army Scout Rangers, who engaged the guerrillas, and other military personnel in the area were also being investigated because a survivor claimed that soldiers may have been responsible.
A civil Muslim group has also blamed the military for the beheadings, Aleo said. Aside from an investigation he has ordered, Aleo urged other government agencies to investigate the killings.
Aleo said he doubted the soldiers were involved, citing the Abu Sayyaf's notoriety for beheading civilians and hostages. The bodies were found about two kilometres from Thursday's clash in Indanan's Cabun Maas village.
Following the killings, the military launched assaults against a remaining Abu Sayyaf faction of a few hundred men on Jolo - a violence-wracked, predominantly Muslim island about 940km south of Manila.
The rebels have been loosely linked to the al-Qaeda terrorist network and have been blamed for deadly bombings and kidnappings in the Philippines.
Last year, a major US-backed assault decimated the Abu Sayyaf's main faction on nearby Basilan island.
Hundreds of rebels and a number of leaders were killed, captured or surrendered, but many more moved to Jolo, where the rebels are currently holding seven hostages, including three Indonesian sailors.
Abu Sayyaf has been directly linked to the Osama network and has ties to the muslem extreemists that blew up Bali. A lot of al Quida train in the PI
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