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Six road workers kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf extremists
were found beheaded Thursday in Jolo.
The severed heads of the six
mostly-Christian workers were found in the jungles of Jolo by
soldiers, four days after the workers were seized while heading to a
government road project, said Major General Ruben Rafael.
The workers were seized by Al
Bader Parad, a commander of the Abu Sayyaf, responsible for the
worst terror attacks in Philippine history.
One of the soldiers who found the
remains said, on condition of anonymity, that the heads had been
scattered in various places in Jolo.
The soldier said the troops had
been tipped off on where the heads could be found.
Parad had earlier demanded a
ransom of P5 million for the hostages but the local government had
said it could not pay it.
More than 8,000 troops are on
Jolo on instructions from President Arroyo to crush the Abu Sayyaf.
The group has been blamed for a
series of bomb attacks in the Philippines in recent years, as well
as high-profile kidnappings of Christians, foreigners and
missionaries.
The group is also sheltering two
members of the Jemaah Islamiah, Indonesians Dulmatin and Umar
Patek, allegedly involved in the deadly 2002 Bali bombings which
left more than 200 dead.
Intelligence officials say the
Abu Sayyaf had contacts with the al-Qaeda network of terror
mastermind Osama bin Laden.
On Thursday, the United
Nations’ World Food Program said 42,000 people have been displaced
by fighting between troops and Muslim militants in Jolo.
The World Food Program said it
planned to deliver 85 tons of rice to affected areas in Jolo, where
a faction of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) has been
engaged in heavy fighting with marines since last week.
Fighting began last Friday when
MNLF forces shelled a military base, triggering heavy reprisals.
At least 12 people from both
sides have died since, while some 8,500 families or roughly 42,000
people have been displaced, officials and the WFP said.
“We hope this support for
hungry families will help stabilize the situation,” the WFP’s
Valerie Guarnieri said in a statement.
Guarnieri said that more food
would be provided if the number of displaced continued to rise.
Jolo officials have appealed for
medicines, blankets, tents and vitamins for those displaced, who are
now being housed in schools converted into camps.
The MNLF was the country’s
largest separatist group until it sealed a peace accord with Manila
in 1996 and settled for limited autonomy.
Its leader, Nur Misuari,
subsequently became governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao. He lost the government’s support in 2001 amid charges of
corruption, and his forces attacked targets in Jolo.
--AFP and ABS-CBN Interactive
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