Abu Sayyaf gunmen attack Filipinos celebrating Eid al-Fitr

MANILA — Abu Sayyaf gunmen yesterday attacked Philippine civilians travelling to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, with their families, killing 21, including at least six children, in a brazen road attack that was the bloodiest in recent years by the militant group, said police and military officials.

Eleven other civilians were wounded as the group travelled in two vans in a coastal village in Talipao town in predominantly Muslim Sulu province, where the militants have survived in jungle camps despite years of United States-backed Philippine military offensives.

About 50 Abu Sayyaf militants armed with assault rifles opened fire on the vans, marine Brigadier-General Martin Pinto and other military officials said. The motive was not immediately clear, but Brig-Gen Pinto said some of the dead belonged to a civilian security force and had been engaged in a clan feud with the Abu Sayyaf.

Violent clan wars, known as “rido”, have complicated security worries in the south, which is mired in decades-long Muslim rebellions.

Among those killed in the attack were at least four members of a Talipaocivilian security force called Barangay Police Action Team, which has been helping the military fight the jungle-based militants in recent months, Brig-Gen Pinto said.

Lieutenant-Colonel Ramon Zagala,the armed forces spokesman, condemned “this heinous atrocity that victimised innocent civilians”, adding that the military would “continue its pursuit operations until those responsible are brought to justice”. “This attack cannot be justified by any ideology and shows the Abu Sayyaf’s terroristic nature,” he said.

Six of the dead were aged two to 15 and four of the wounded were children, including a three-year-old boy, police and military reports showed. Possible family ties among the travellers were not immediately clear.

The Abu Sayyaf, which has about 300 armed fighters split into several factions, was organised in the early 1990s, but has been crippled by government operations and endures largely by conducting ransom kidnappings.

It now holds about 10 hostages, including two German tourists seized in April and two birdwatchers, one Dutch and the other Swiss, who were kidnapped two years ago. AP