NINE PEOPLE as of this reporting, including four members of Philippine security forces, were killed Tuesday in clashes with 10 suspected members of the Abu Sayyaf terror group on the resort island-province of Bohol, authorities said.
Tourists flock to Bohol for its white-sand beaches, like the ones found in Panglao island.
The incursion would be the first on a key Philippine tourist destination in recent years by the group which pledges allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) and often targets foreigners in the lawless southern Mindanao region.
Five gunmen were killed, and four assault rifles and an improvised explosive device were recovered in the fighting, officials said.
The incident took place in a remote area, with local officials saying the bandits had used fast boats to reach a village where they squared off against security forces who went to investigate.
TERRORISM NOT A PUBLIC CONCERN
US and Australian embassies had warned their citizens this week about possible kidnappings by “terrorist groups” specifically on Bohol and Cebu islands.
Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte himself had been warning of terror threats in the country, although this concern was low in the public radar, according to a poll this week.
Also on Tuesday, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) ordered the deportation of nabbed Syrian national Rahaf Zina, who is believed to have links with IS. Ms. Zina and Kuwaiti national Hussein Aldhafiri were arrested by Philippine authorities in an operation last March 25.
The military’s spokesman, Brigadier-General Restituto Padilla, said security forces have been on alert for “potential activity on the part of some lawless elements” during the peak Easter tourist season.
“Our forces who were acting on this information were able to engage these lawless armed groups that are believed to be part of the Abu Sayyaf group (ASG) from Mindanao,” he said on ABS-CBN television.
Bohol is a mere 30 minutes’ boat ride away from the major port of Cebu on Cebu island, which is also among the country’s top tourist draws. The attack came as millions of Filipinos head to resort locations for the holidays.
Bohol is famous among foreign tourists who swim with docile whale sharks and marvel at tiny primates called tarsiers, go on cruises aboard boats on crystal-clear rivers and lounge on its beaches.
CLEARING OPERATIONS
Three soldiers and one policeman were killed in the fighting, according to a joint statement of the region’s military and police.
“Security forces reported that the armed group is well-armed with heavy-caliber weapons, but now cornered in an isolated section” of Bohol, military chief of staff General Eduardo Año said.
“The clearing operations are ongoing and we are pouring in more forces to help and assist. We hope to finish this by the end of the day,” Mr. Padilla, the military spokesman, added.
The gunmen sailed into the Bohol town of Inabanga on Monday, going upriver toward a remote section of the island aboard three fast boats, Inabanga police officer Edwin Melicor told AFP by telephone.
Residents told police the type of boats were used only in Mindanao -- where the Abu Sayyaf is based.
A clash broke out as police went to investigate early Tuesday, Mr. Melicor added. The military later poured in reinforcements.
Bohol provincial governor Edgar Chatto said the fighting was isolated in one village outside Inabanga, which he described as a farming and fishing community.
An unspecified number of residents had already fled to safety in nearby areas, he added.
“I am very disappointed that these elements coming out of nowhere are trying to destroy the lives of people living in peace,” Mr. Chatto told AFP.
Over the past year the Abu Sayyaf has been expanding its activities, boarding commercial and fishing vessels off their southern island stronghold of Jolo, near Malaysia, and abducting dozens of foreign crew members.
They beheaded a German tourist earlier this year and two Canadian tourists last year, all three of them having been seized at sea.
MILITARY PRESSURE
“This is a dangerous development,” Herman Joseph S. Kraft, University of the Philippines associate professor for political science, said in a text message when sought for comment about the Abu Sayyaf in Bohol.
“On one hand it shows how badly AFP ops (Armed Forces of the Philippines operations) are pressuring them in their stronghold that they are expanding the scope of their operations to try to ease the pressure,” Mr. Kraft said. He also warned that the Abu Sayyaf might engage in terror attacks, going beyond their usual “guerrilla tactics.”
“On the other hand it means that ASG might expand their operations beyond guerilla tactics and engage in acts of terror such as attacking population centers elsewhere in the [P]hilippines,” Mr. Kraft said.
As of last Monday, before the attack in Bohol, at least three members of the Civilian Active Auxiliary (CAA) were killed and 11 others wounded following an encounter with the Abu Sayyaf Group in Sumisip, Basilan province.
A statement by the Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) late Monday said personnel of the 4th Special Forces Battalion had encountered the terrorists while they were conducting a security patrol in the said area early that day.
Lt. Gen. Carlito G. Galvez, Jr., Wesmincom Commander, said: “Our engaged troops have recently established a detachment in Barangay Cabcaban, in the Municipality of Sumisip, in response to the call of the local government... to secure the area....”
“This incident will not stop us from doing our mandate, in order to free the community from the terror these bandits are causing the people,” Mr. Galvez also said.
http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Nation&title=abu-sayyaf-attacks-tourist-province-of-bohol&id=143715
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