Nine dead as militants attack Philippine tourist island
NINE people including four members of the Philippine security forces were killed yesterday in clashes with 10 suspected members of the Abu Sayyaf kidnap group on the resort island of Bohol, authorities said.
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 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 on Bohol island, officials said.
The incident took place in a remote area, with local officials saying the militants had used fast boats to reach a village where they squared off against security forces who went to investigate.
US and Australian embassies had warned their citizens this week about possible kidnappings by “terrorist groups” specifically on Bohol and Cebu islands.
“The US Embassy has received unsubstantiated yet credible information that terrorist groups may attempt to conduct kidnappings in Central Visayas, which includes both Cebu and Bohol provinces,” the US advisory said.
Security forces have been on alert for “potential activity on the part of some lawless elements” during the peak Easter tourist season, military spokesman Brigadier-General Restituto Padilla said.
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.
Militants cornered
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-calibre weapons, but now cornered in an isolated section” of Bohol, military chief of staff General Eduardo Ano 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,” Padilla, the military spokesman, added.
Over the past year 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.