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ZAMBOANGA, PHILIPPINES U.S. troops in the southern Philippines face the prospect of battle with descendants of the Muslim insurgents that brought U.S. General John "Black Jack" Pershing to the country more than a century ago. Before deploying to Basilan on the weekend, the Green Berets took seminars on the roots of Muslim rebellion in the poverty-wracked south as they brought Washington's war on terrorism to one of the most remote parts of the former U.S. colony. "It's an old war," said Datu Amil Jumaani, a Muslim professor who lectured the U.S. troops. Arab missionaries brought Islam to the Philippines in ...

Note: The following text is a quote: Madhatta Haipe Extradited to U.S. for 1995 Hostage Taking Involving U.S. and Philippine Citizens WASHINGTON—The Justice Department today announced that Madhatta Haipe, a citizen of the Philippines, has been extradited from the Philippines to face trial in the District of Columbia for various crimes relating to the hostage taking of U.S. and Philippine citizens in 1995. Haipe was arrested Aug. 27 upon his arrival in the United States and is expected to make his initial appearance this afternoon in federal court in the District of Columbia to face a seven-count indictment filed on...

ZAMBOANGA- Philippine police said Monday they have captured a member of the Al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group who joined in the abduction and beheading of Christian workers when he was 14. The suspect, Jirome Mustakin, now 22, was arrested Sunday in the southern port city of Zamboanga as he waited to board a ferry heading across the sea border to Sabah in Malaysia, police said. "Mustakin was positively identified by a witness as one of those who were involved in the kidnapping," city police chief Senior Superintendent Edwin de Ocampo told reporters. He said Mustakin was 14 when he joined...

Philippines: Islamist militants blamed for beheadings Manila, 12 June (AKI) - Islamist militants from the separatist Abu Sayyaf group have beheaded three civilians in the southern Philippines, the military officials said on Saturday. The three men were gathering wood near Maluso on the island of Basilan on Friday when they were abducted and executed by militants, Brigadier-General Eugene Clemen, a local marine commander, said. "We received reports this morning the three lumberjacks had been beheaded," Clemen said. The execution came less than two weeks after the group led Puruji Indama killed three people abducted in the nearby Sumisip town. Troops...

Obama amputates our nuclear arms By: Charles Krauthammer ...snippet...Under President Obama’s new policy, however, if the state that has just attacked us with biological or chemical weapons is “in compliance with the Non-Proliferation Treaty,” explained Gates, then “the U.S. pledges not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against it.” Imagine the scenario: Hundreds of thousands are lying dead in the streets of Boston after a massive anthrax or nerve gas attack. The president immediately calls in the lawyers to determine whether the attacking state is in compliance with the NPT. If it turns out that the attacker...

Manila, Philippines, Apr 15, 2010 / 03:01 am (CNA).- Abu Sayyaf militants conducted a bombing assault on Isabela City in the Philippines on Tuesday morning, killing several people and severely damaging the Cathedral of St. Isabel. The local bishop said the cathedral was “totally” damaged. At least 25 militants with the Al Qaeda-linked group, dressed in police and camouflaged military uniforms, set off two bombs that blew up a van and damaged the 40-year-old cathedral. A third bomb placed near a judge’s house and a bus terminal was safely detonated by soldiers.It was the worst attack by the group in...

Held hostage for 376 days by the Islamic terrorist group Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines, Gracia Burnham doesn't seem to tire of recounting the time she and her husband spent in the jungle with their kidnappers. It was the last year of her husband's life. Burnham conducted a three-day lecture series this week at Southeastern Bible College, discussing mission work, terrorism and her personal experiences. "I've been surprised our story keeps enduring," She wrote a best-selling book about her experiences, called "In the Presence of My Enemies," after she was rescued on June 7, 2002. Both she and her husband,...

At least 11 people including 10 civilians were killed and several injured Saturday when Muslim militants attacked a village in southern Philippines... About 70 Muslim Abu Sayyaf rebels swooped down at dawn on the village of Tubigan in Maluso town in Basilan province, 900 km south of Manila... 'Among the fatalities were a government militiaman and four children,' he said. 'Some of the injured were in serious condition.' the guerrillas burned down six houses and targeted the house of the village chieftain. Basilan Catholic Bishop Martin Jomoad said villagers had fled their homes for fear the guerrillas would return and...

MANILA, Philippines – Muslim rebels who have resumed peace talks with the Philippine government said Monday they were not behind a deadly jail break in the country's volatile south that freed 31 criminals and guerrillas, including militants accused of beheadings. About 70 attackers used a sledgehammer and bolt cutters Sunday to punch a hole in the provincial Basilan jail and spring 31 people, including alleged hard-core members of the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf group, officials said. A guard and one of the attackers were killed as security forces dispatched helicopters to help track down the fleeing inmates, said Basilan Vice Gov....

Note: The following text is a quote: Philippines: Jihad against school principals This just in from our "This Is Why You're Poor" Department. Allah promised paradise to those who "slay and are slain" in the cause of jihad (Qur'an 9:111), but shooting your own society in the foot is also quite popular as a consequence. "Islamic rebels behead Philippine teacher: police," from Agence France-Presse, November 8: ZAMBOANGA, Philippines -- The severed head of a school principal who was abducted by Islamic militants in the troubled southern Philippines was dumped in a petrol station on Monday, authorities said. The head of...

Abducted and held hostage by bloodthirsty Abu Sayyaf Islamic terrorists for a whole year, Gracia Burnham doesn't hold much back in her book: In The Presence of My Enemies.The Abu Sayyaf is an Islamic terrorist group in the southern Philippines with ties to Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda.The horrible ordeal began in late May of 2001.Martin and Gracia Burnham were celebrating their 18th Wedding Anniversary at the Dos Palmas Resort, when they and several others were abducted and taken hostage by the Abu Sayyaf.They were forced to experience and witness the most cruel sufferings and humiliation. Of fellow hostages and themselves.Throughout the ordeal, as Gracia Burnham...

MANILA (Reuters) - One U.S. soldier was killed and another was wounded in a landmine explosion in the southern Philippines on Tuesday, a Philippine army spokesman said. Lieutenant-Colonel Romeo Brawner said three Filipino soldiers were also wounded when the vehicle they were riding in struck an improvised landmine near Indanan town on the island of Jolo, a stronghold of Abu Sayyaf militants.

ZAMBOANGA CITY — The military assault against fleeing bandits in Sulu is continuing even after soldiers have overran their main camp. Major General Benjamin D. Dolorfino, Western Mindanao Command chief, told BusinessWorld Sunday’s capture of the main Abu Sayyaf camp was a major blow to terrorism, citing the earlier capture of another main camp in neighboring Basilan province last August.... At least 17 bandits were immediately killed during the half-day clash, while others scattered and escaped. The bandits retaliated on Monday, ambushing a band of Marines who were headed to their base at 2 p.m. Eight soldiers and five bandits...

Eight Marine soldiers were killed Monday afternoon in an ambush staged by Abu Sayyaf bandits in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, military officials said. AFP public affairs office chief Lt. Col, Romeo Brawner Jr, said troops from the 4th Marine Battalion Landing Team were on their way to their base when they were waylaid by the Abu Sayyaf at Sitio Talatac in Bato-bato village around 1:30 p.m. Lt. Col. Ariel Caculitan, head of the Marine Battalion Landing Team 4 (MBLT 4), said his men were able to return fire, resulting to the death of five bandits. “Five died on...

Ever since the bombing of the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City, critics have contended that more people were involved than Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. A recent federal lawsuit alleges that Iraqi agents also played a role and McVeigh’s former defense attorney claims that prior to the bombing Nichols made contact with international terrorists. In a special report CBS 11’s Steve Narisi says the trail some investigators are following leads to the Philippines. “The U.S. Government has contended all along that any link between Nichols and Islamic extremists is strictly coincidental. During Nichols and McVeigh’s trial, the court didn’t allow...

Philippine troops suffered some of their worst losses in an offensive against al-Qaida-linked militants on a southern island in which at least 23 soldiers and 20 guerrillas were killed, officials said Thursday. Troops continued to scour the battlefield following clashes Wednesday with Abu Sayyaf militants in two of their jungle camps on Basilan Island, and the tally of slain guerrillas could rise, said regional military commander Maj. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino. "It was a slugfest," Dolorfino told The Associated Press by telephone. "It was really close-quarter fighting so we couldn't use our artillery," he said, adding troops were pursuing small pockets...

MANILA, Philippines—The military Sunday vowed to crush the extremist Abu Sayyaf group by the end of the year. "We are confident we can handle this problem of the Abu Sayyaf," said Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. He said the military will launch an "all-out effort" to defeat the al-Qaida-linked group responsible for the worst terrorist attacks in the Philippines. Following the release last week of Italian Eugenio Vagni, the last of three International Committee of the Red Cross workers abducted by the Abu Sayyaf on Jan. 15, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. ordered...

Last week, a Swiss prosecutor found former Kremlin aide and present Secretary General of the Union between Russia and Belarus, Pavel Borodin, guilty of money laundering. Prosecutor Bernard Bertossa convicted Borodin and ordered him to pay a fine of 300,000 Swiss francs ($177,000). Switzerland issued an international arrest warrant for Borodin in December 1999 on suspicion of laundering up to $30 million linked to a lucrative Kremlin renovation contract awarded to two Swiss-based construction companies. He was arrested in New York in January 2001 and extradited to Switzerland in early April. After spending a few days behind bars, he was...

Not for commercial use. Solely to be used for the educational purposes of research and open discussion. Arrest of Kenyan Exposes Massive Global Arms Trade The East African Africa News February 25, 2002 Monday Kenya L AST WEEKEND'S arrest of Kenyan-born Sanjivan Ruprah, who is alleged to be a part of a major arms smuggling operation to Africa, has brought into the open the extent of the multi-million dollar illegal business. The whereabouts of Bout remain unknown. Some media reports say he is in Moscow, while others say he is in the Congo or the United Arab Emirates. An international ...

Filipino Militants Behead Kidnapped Farmer: Police By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: May 17, 2009 ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (AP) -- Philippine police recovered the severed head of a farm owner kidnapped by Muslim militants and authorities said Monday he was likely beheaded because his family failed to pay ransom. Doroteo Gonzales, 61, was snatched by gunmen April 25 from his house in southern Zamboanga city and brought to nearby Basilan Island, where al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf rebels are holding at least five other people in a surge of ransom kidnappings. The gunmen were believed to have links to the Abu Sayyaf, and Gonzales...